Sustained Investigation #2

8 3/4" x 5 1/2" max radius, 2" min radius, Stoneware Clay

Description

Essential Question: How can I use the myelin style of Italian ceramics from the 1960s to represent hydrangeas, my grandma's favorite flower?

Materials: Stoneware Clay

Processes: Coiling, Smoothing, Glazing

Reflection

I wanted to make a relatively large vase, and I knew it would be too much of a struggle to try to throw it on the wheel, so I decided to challenge myself reasonably and coil, which I hadn’t done in a few years. I also wanted to illustrate hydrangeas on the vase in a style I think is called myelin, so to create a looser/watercolor effect I put a coat of white over the whole vase, then put my splotches of color, and then used black underglaze to outline the image.

I hadn’t coiled in a while, so I had to remember some tricks. I thought that smoothing at the end would be better than smoothing everything out after each coil, but I found that that was wrong. It took forever to smooth out the surface, and it’s not even completely smooth at this point. I also used a sponge on the end of a stick to reshape part of the vase to make it less lopsided. I had to test out a couple of different methods before I got it to work. I also had to determine how I wanted to do the hydrangeas. I tested different colors for the flowers and different ways to outline them on a test tile before starting to add color to my vase. I determined that underglaze piping? Was the best way to outline. 

I loved using a flower and style that had a bit of meaning to me. It felt like I was creating something special. I want to try to continue that theme in my future pieces. I also benefited a lot from the amount of testing I did before putting it on my final piece. I will keep in mind that testing is always beneficial if I have the time to do so.