Unit 2
Pinch Pot cut in half
After watching the video on how to make a pinch pot, I still felt a bit confused but decided to give it my best shot. It wasn't easy to get the sides even or to shape it well. Cutting the top to make it round and smooth was especially challenging. When I made the cut, I could tell it wasn’t perfectly even, but that’s okay. It showed me where I needed to improve. By the time I worked on my second pinch pot, things got easier, and I could already see that I was getting better.
Pinch Pot made into something useful
I started this project by making another pinch pot. It took some time, but I was really happy with the result, and it was definitely better than my first one. I didn’t use an inspiration photo for this piece, but I wanted to create something where I could plant a flower. That’s when I got the idea to make a 3D flower and attach it to the pot. The flower turned out well, but attaching it to the thin rim of the pot was very difficult.
After it was fired, I glazed it in three different colors. It hasn’t come out of the kiln yet, but I hope the colors of the flower don’t blend into each other too much. Overall, I’m really happy with this piece and enjoyed working on the small details. I hope the flower stays attached, but I did my best to secure it.
2 Pinch Pots put together
For this assignment, I started by making two pinch pots. Since I had made them before, it wasn’t too difficult, but the hardest part was getting both pots to be the exact same size so I could attach them. That took some time, but in the end, I was happy with how it turned out. I put them together and waited until the next class to keep working, so the clay could fully stick together.
In the next class, I cut a hole in the top of the pinch pots. I had found this cute pinch pot on Pinterest and loved how they used texture and cut the clay, so I wanted to add some texture to make my piece more interesting. My plan was to create a larger pot where I could either plant something or store small items.
After finishing the texture, I realized I needed a lid. I should have thought of that earlier because I could’ve used the cutout from my pinch pot for the lid. Instead, I had to make a separate lid and shape it to fit the opening. It took me some time, and while the lid isn’t a perfect fit, it sort of works. I added the same texture to the lid and attached a small handle. Then, I glazed the whole piece, and I’m excited to see how it looks once it comes out of the kiln.
I’m happy with this piece and learned a lot through the process of attaching the pots, making the lid, and adding texture.
Small sculpture
I found these little elephants on Pinterest and really wanted to make one as my small sculpture. I had no idea where to start, so I began by shaping the feet and worked my way up to the body. Then, I attached the head, followed by the ears and the tail. I decided to keep it simple and didn’t add too many details like a mouth or other small features. I glazed the elephant gray.
I’m really happy with how it turned out, and I think it’s super cute. Making this piece gave me a lot of confidence in my skills. I never thought I could create something like this, but I realized I just needed to start.
Relief tile
For my relief tile, I found inspiration in a flowery design online. I didn’t follow it exactly, but it gave me a good starting point. I started by making an even tile and cut it into a square shape. Then, I created the individual pieces and attached them to the tile. I shaped and smoothed everything out. In the next class, I underglazed the tile and set it aside to be fired.
I’m really happy with how this piece came out. It’s pretty sweet, and I added a hole in one corner so I could hang it on the wall or somewhere else.
Historically inspired piece with research
I didn’t really enjoy this assignment. I started by finding a Roman vase as inspiration, but I overestimated my abilities and ended up destroying it because it didn’t turn out well. Then, I found another vase online and decided to make that one instead. However, I wasn’t happy with how it came out either, but I didn’t want to start over again. Since I knew I wouldn’t use it at home and didn’t want to waste clay, I took a photo and then destroyed the piece.
My inspiration was a vase from Japan’s Jomon culture, which dates back around 14,000 years, making it one of the oldest pottery pieces ever found. The Jomon culture, which means "cord-marked" in Japanese, is known for using rope-like patterns on their pottery. Their pottery was mainly used for practical purposes, like storing food, cooking, and for ceremonial or spiritual rituals.