Two Cylinders, Two Surfaces

Stoneware, 4’’x2’’

• Essential Question: What role does persistence play in revising, refining, and developing work?

• Learning Goal: Successfully throw two or more 4”+ cylinders on the wheel. Create two related surfaces using two different techniques.

• Artists Studied: Angela Adams & William Morris 

• Research: Watched videos of how to throw, took pictures of nature to inspire designs

Reflection: Why was it important to be persistent as you worked on and refined throwing your cylinders?  When was there a time in your project when you needed to persist?

Persistency is a crucial skill to have when throwing cylinders. It is so important because the process can be super tedious at times so it's necessary to keep going when it gets hard. In my personal experience with throwing these cylinders, I needed to persist while centering the clay on the wheel. I found this task to be super challenging as I was first learning how to throw, so I persisted through the challenge to complete my piece.

2. Explain what you might do similarly or differently next time on a similar project, due to gained experience from working with new surface techniques and/or the influence of looking at others’ work.

Something that I would do differently for the next time on this project would be to do a better job at pulling the pieces upwards on the wheel. I found that this was an issue for my cylinders because as I look back on them, some of them seem to be pretty short and narrow. I think my cylinders would be more successful if they were wider and taller in terms of looks.

3. What aspect(s) of nature did you decide to illustrate with your work and what did you do to alter and connect your designs on the two cylinders? Describe the surface altering techniques you used and describe how you think each technique enhances or detracts from your designs.  

I incorporated a berry bush that I found on our walk. I'm not certain what type it is but I included the berry section on one cylinder and the leafs on the other to connect the pieces together. For the leaves I did water etching which was a cool new technique for me. The other one is carved straight into the clay. I think both techniques enhance my pieces as they add cool texture.