Bird & Tray

Purpose: Explore pinching a sculpture, texturing slabs, and utilizing glaze techniques

Reflection

1. Clay construction is a slow-paced and tedious activity. You have to not rush yourself or the clay or else you may make mistake and worsen your creation. It can dry up though, so you can’t be TOO slow with your clay, or you have to rewet it. With clay, you can’t be random with your movements, as sometimes it may leave an imprint on the clay, (Clay memory) and you need to constantly smooth it out as it gets uneven and bumpy. Another thing is to always be sure of your clay thickness, if you are making items such as pots and mugs, you need to have even thickness all around. I think something to keep in mind about clay construction is to remember that EVERYTHING is a process and you should pay equal attention to all of the parts.  

2. I learned that glazing can be completely different from it was before. You have to wait while glazing before applying another layer. The glaze has to be a certain consistency to be right to use, what we call tomato soupy. I was surprised about how the color can be very dull or grey and then suddenly turn into such a vibrant color after being put in the kiln. I want to learn more about the glazing variations by layering on top of each other and all the possible color combinations.
   Learning about glazing and how it works was a great experience for beginning ceramics, and I can’t wait to make more glazed pieces.