Ceramics 2

Final Reflection:

I am most proud of my bring on the light project, where I made a matching candle sconce and candle holder. I love how they turned out, and I plan on hanging my teal light sconce in my room. I like the bright color that I chose because it can add a nice pop to a space when it is not being used. My favorite of the two is the sconce because of its ability to add warmth to a space and its fun, spiky look. This project taught me more about engineering for function rather than just looks. I was working towards a specific goal of the pieces holding a candle, and I had to let that continuously guide my work. I had to alter my pieces a couple of times and keep checking to make sure it was still on track to do what it was supposed to.

I think the most informative project was our Raku field trip and workshop. It was cool to be able to go down to Portland and visit a ceramics studio and shop and learn more about this ancient technique. We crafted and glazed our pieces at school and then went down to Portland Pottery to have them fired in their outdoor gas-fired kiln. I chose to do a Starfish as my animal and a bowl with a starfish on the inside and some seaweed on the outside. I loved how my pieces turned out, especially my starfish, which, after firing, looked like it had some algae stuck to it. This project showed me that it's not always plausible to demand perfection. The technique of raku leaves you with a lot of uncertainty, so you have to be ok with unexpected changes to your work. At first, I didn’t like how my pieces turned out because they didn’t look the way I thought they would, but it ended up being my favorite experience.

My goal was to learn how to throw on the wheel, unlocking a new way to manipulate clay. I think I fully met this goal because I learned how to throw two fairly difficult shapes: cylinders and bowls. I found throwing cylinders much easier than throwing bowls, but I am glad I now have experience throwing both. I made around four cylinders and eight bowls, lending me plenty of practice. I am proud of my final pieces for both of those projects, and I can’t wait to explore more shapes on the wheel in the future.

Initial Thoughts:

I am most proud of my slab box from ceramics I last year. I had a lot of fun during the designing process, choosing what I wanted to do and playing with different models. I also learned how to use a new technique to execute my ocean-inspired design. Wateretching allowed me to create my final ocean design and I hope to be able to experiment more with technique in the future. I love how my box turned out, especially the glazes and I use it everyday to hold stuff. Something that has been increasingly important to me in the past year has been the outdoors. Although I have always loved nature, with the current political climate I have intensified my passion for it. I made it a point this past summer to get outside whenever possible, whether that be a walk, a run, a hike, or sitting in the sun. The patterns, textures, and colors within the nature around us are fascinating and I love the idea of incorporating them into my art. Another thing I am passionate about is people. I love learning from and about all different kinds of people. I hope this semester I can attempt to translate this passion for connection through some of my designs and pieces. I hope to develop my skills and knowledge about the wheel and how it adds a whole new layer of possibilities for ceramics. I have a little experience with it, but I can’t wait to learn more about throwing again and how to manipulate clay in a whole new way. Making a vase would be really interesting, especially learning how to do different shapes on the wheel. I also think learning how to make a bowl would be really helpful and fun, because then we could use it and make more if we wanted! To keep ontop of work, I will write everything down in my calender, from homework to due dates. This is where I keep track of all my deadlines and homework for my classes so I look there often and should be able to keep track of everything.