Pinch Pots

Essential Questions:

How do artists grow and become accomplished in art forms? How do artists learn from trial and error?

Pinch Pot Pinterest Board

Reflection:

Some pinching techniques that I learned from this project could include that you have to start with the shape that you want your pinch pot to be. For example, if I wanted a circular-shaped pinch pot I would have to start with a block of clay, then start smoothing the edges and rolling it into a sphere. From there, you would make a small divot and start pinching around the edges to thin it out, but still make sure it is the proper thickness by feeling it with your fingers. You want to make sure you have the same thickness for the sides all the way around. The possibilities are endless and you can make it into any shape you would like, whether it be short, tall, flat, curvy, wide, anything. Once the shaping process for your pinch pot is done you now have to make sure there are no cracks or bumps, they like to form on the top of your pinch pot. To avoid those cracks and bumps you can finish the shaping process then run your fingers over the rough spaces to smooth it over.

Contrast is a very important component of your pinch pot because you want it to stand out more and make it pleasing to the viewer's eye. I achieved this by making my turtle sprigs very detailed and making sure that the glazing combination that I used would make those details pop even more. I also achieved it on my pinch pot with two openings but making the colors a very different shade of green but making it represent a pea-pod almost. The bright red inside on one of my pinch pots also contrasts really well compared to the dusty rose I used on the outside. Contrast brings out the qualities of a piece and makes it stand out among other pieces that may not be as interesting.

If I were to make an additional pinch pot, I would make one that was a taller rectangular structure and that would be a little bit wider than my pinch pot with turtle sprigs. I feel like it would have more of a purpose to use it like I could use it for pencils or pens. For the glaze, I would want to do a multi-layer kind of style. On the outside I would do the darker shade on the bottom then one shade lighter in the middle and then the lightest shade on the top, but for the inside, I would do a medium shade of whatever color would be the outside's complementary color (opposite on the color wheel).

Glaze Planning: