Unit 3
Coil Vase
I looked at some vases for inspiration on this project and focused on the different types of coils. I started by cutting out a circle of clay for the base and stacked coils on top of it. Making the coils was hard at first, but I realized it was easier when the clay was a bit wet. After doing regular coils, I tried out some different styles and wanted to include as many types as possible in my piece. Smoothing out the inside was important, and using slip helped me close the gaps between coils. It was tricky to make the top of the vase even on every side because I used all kinds of coils. Underglazing was another challenge. I picked five colors to make it as colorful as possible, but it was hard to get paint in every small gap without going over onto the next coil. In the end, I think it turned out well, and it was really fun to make. It looks great as a flower vase, even though it’s a bit heavy.
Slab building with slump mold
For my slab building, my inspiration was small lanterns. I liked the idea of cutting out shapes on the walls. First, I made paper templates and used them to cut out the slab. Then, I drew the shapes I wanted on the clay and carefully cut them out. The next step was to cut the sides of the walls at an angle and assemble the piece using scoring and slip. The whole piece ended up much smaller than I expected because cutting the walls at an angle reduced the size. Even though it wasn’t exactly how I planned, I still liked my piece and decided not to start over. I smoothed everything out and fired it. Then, I applied a glaze. It’s not my best work, but I learned a lot during the process, especially about sizing. The walls aren’t completely parallel, which is something I’ll focus on improving next time.
Slab building with darts
Sgraffito
For my slab building with darts, I started with a template I found online. It had a circle for the bottom and another circle with a piece cut out so the walls wouldn’t go straight up. I cut the shapes out of my slab and put everything together using scoring and slip. To make it more interesting, I added curves to the edge. I decided to combine my slab building with my sgraffito assignment in one piece. Once I was happy with the shape, I underglazed it and let it dry for a bit. Then, I used needles and scraping tools to carve random shapes and patterns into the underglaze and clay. The sgraffito made my piece look even better, and I can’t wait to see it come out of the kiln. My plan is to use this little bowl for my jewelry, especially rings. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Relief Carving revisited
I looked up some inspiration online and found a really pretty piece. It wasn’t carving but more like adding 3D objects. So, I decided to make something like that. I cut out a square from my slab and started adding nature-inspired objects or just imaginary shapes. I tried to leave as few gaps as possible, and I think I did a pretty good job with that.
The piece hasn’t come out of the kiln yet, but I really hope the objects won’t fall off and that I scored and slipped everything well enough. I want to underglaze the piece with lots of different colors to make it colorful. This might be one of my favorite pieces so far, and it was really fun to make.
Choice project
I didn’t plan to make a choice project because I wasn’t done with the assigned projects yet. This was supposed to be my sgraffito piece. I started by making a cup out of a slab. I worked on the bottom for a while because I wanted it to have a rim instead of sitting flat on the whole bottom. I added a little 3D flower inside so you would see it while drinking. As I said, I wanted this to be my sgraffito piece, but the class ended, and I forgot it couldn’t dry if I wanted to do sgraffito. The piece became bone dry, but I didn’t want to throw it away, so I kept working on it as an extra choice project. I wanted the underglaze to stand out and look 3D, so I added a thick layer of it. I’m really happy with my little cup, even though it wasn’t an actual assignment.