Unit 2 Projects:
Pinch Pot Cut in Half
Overall I feel like I learned a lot from making my first pinch pot. The sides were relatively even to the bottom, but the corners were a tad thinner than the rest. However I used way to much clay for my first pinch pot, making it more of a bowl than a pot. If I were to make my pinch pot again I would use less clay to make it smaller and make sure the corners were even as well. I think that I could also ensure that I expand the bottom of the pot first in order to make sure it does not become a bowl.
Pinch Pot
Plan:
- Wedge around one pound of clay and form into a ball
- Press thumb into middle creating a hole, start expanding out base
- Once base is expanded begin to move up the sides, pinching to expand the rest of the pot
- Make sure all sides are even!
- Pinch every other area on rim of pot to make wavy effect
- Carve name into the bottom
- Fire the first time
- After first fire, glaze with Crystalx glaze
- Fire again!
One thing that went well on my project was making the waves on the rim. I really liked how it turned out and am really proud of it. Something that could have gone better was my first few attempts at making the pinch pot. My first few quickly turned into bowls due to me expanding the rest of the pinch pot too quickly after the base. I did get the hang of it after a few tries though! Something else that could have gone better was that the edges kept cracking. I am not sure yet how to prevent this but I just tried to keep smoothing them out to prevent further damage. Overall I am really proud of how my project turned out because of the spotted effect from the glaze and the wavy rim that I created.
Small Sculpture
Plan:
- Wedge clay and form into ball
- Cut off piece about the size of my palm
- Shape into a log, about the length of my thumb
- Begin to make face, make indents for eye sockets
- Pinch end of the log shape into a tail like shape
- Make fins and slip and score them on
- Slip and score tail on
- Make two balls, slip and score them into the eye sockets
- Using underglaze make the koi splotch pattern on the fish
- Using black underglaze paint stripes onto the pectoral fins
- Paint the eyes white with a black pupil
- Paint a small mouth
- Fire!
- After it has been fired once glaze the whole piece using clear glaze
- Fire again!
One thing that went well in my project was making the splotches to look like a koi fish. I am very proud of how the fish looks and the way the red, yellow, and orange splotches look. I am really proud of the movement of the fish that was created through the curve in the tail. Something that could have gone better was the tail breaking off. When I came back to my piece after a few days the tail had broken off but I was able to reshape it and slip and score it back on. The underglaze also got a little smudged causing one of the fins to look messy but other than that I am very pleased with the results. If I were to do this again I would try at a less cartoon face for my fish but I am very pleased with the end results. Even though it looks a little silly I still love the look.
Relief Tile
Plan:
- Wedge clay and form into rectangular shape
- Put through slab roller to get to around 1/2 inch thickness
- Cut slab into a square
- Carve up and out the squiggly-kelp based design
- Carve name onto back
- Fire
- Glaze
- Fire again!
Something that I like about my piece is the movement. The squiggles I based off of kelp and how it moves in the tides and I feel like I captured that somewhat. Something that could have gone better was the carving itself. I felt a little lost trying to go about a design and executing it correctly. I am not completely pleased with the result and am not planning on glazing it. However I am excited to try again when we make relief tiles in Unit 3. Overall I feel like I like some aspects of my piece but I need more practice in order to master the concept.
Two Pinch Pots Put Together
Plan:
- Wedge double the clay for one pinch pot and form into two balls
- Press thumb into middle creating a hole, start expanding out base
- Once base is expanded begin to move up the sides, pinching to expand the rest of the pot
- Make sure all sides are even!
- Repeat!
- Once both pinch pots are made score and slip the tops of each pinch pot
- Carefully place one pinch pot on top of the other and make sure the seam is sealed
- Smooth out the seam on the inside and outside of the pot
- Cut hole in the top of the two pinch pots to make it a vase
- Smooth out the edges of the hole and the pot itself
- Carve lines into the pot and paint them with underglaze
- Carve initals into the bottom
- Fire!
- Glaze inside and outside of the pot
- Fire again!
Something that I like about my piece is the size of it. It is just large enough to fit some flowers in and will look good as a vase. However something that could have gone better was the shape. The vase is slightly lopsided and there is a rather large bump on one side due to the pinch pots being uneven. If I were to make the piece again I would use more layers of glaze to make it not be patchy and I would make sure that my pinch pots are the same size to get rid of it being lopsided. Overall I like my piece but I feel like there are elements that I could do better. I am excited to keep practicing this technique.
Historically Inspired Piece
Plan:
- Research the Jomon style pottery
- Gather the research and find inspiration from it
- Wedge clay
- Make a small pinch pot
- Cut the top to be even
- Carve squiggly lines into the piece, similar to those in many of the Jomon vases
- Fire!
- Glaze with a brown glaze to mirror the brown Jomon pottery
Fire again!
When creating this piece I was orginally going to make a larger vase with a complicated handle but it didn't end up working out. After that I decided to make a smaller piece with the classic carvings from many of the Jomon pieces. Something that I think went well was carving the lines themselves. I like the way they turned out. However my glazing is rather patchy and the rim of the piece is uneven. If I were to do this again I would change the shape to be closer to the Jomon vases as well as do more layers when glazing to make sure it dosen't look patchy. Overall I think the piece looks somewhat inspired by the Jomon pottery and I like the way it turned out.
Research: