My most SUCCESSFUL artwork
I believe that the best piece I have made this semester is my honey pot. Although it's not entirely finished, I still feel as if it's one of my best pieces so far. It might not be much to compared other ceramics students, but I believe it's still pretty good for a level such as my own. I really put a lot of effort into this piece while trying to avoid making the same mistakes I made in other pieces. Some of these include over-misting, being too rough when smoothing, and improper wrapping. While trying to avoid these mistakes and applying techniques I learned last year, I managed complete the pot in which I am satisfied with. I am eager to see the end result once it's glazed and fired. |
Overcoming obsticals
Picking which piece gave me the most trouble is an easy choice. The hydra-tutrle was hands down, the hardest piece I have worked on this year. Although it may have been partially destroyed in the kiln, I did learn a lot in the process of making it. I remember how I wanted to make a small version, but I found it tough to attach parts to the shell such as the flippers and heads. I managed to get past this by making a bigger version, which only brought on more obstacles. One of the most annoying had to be the flippers. If I didn't constantly keep them moist, the would begin to break before I attached them to the turtle. Funny, It was easier to work and shape the pieces when they were moist, but when I misted them, they began to crack. I ended having to work with mildly dry clay. The bottom half of the shell was also a pain in the keister since it kept caving in. The one time I got it to harden and hold itself still, I misted it too much and it caved in. I actually was glad this happened since I could work on the inside now without the bottom half of the shell getting in the way. With blood, sweat, and mostly tears, I managed to finish it and everything stayed. I managed to work past everything that went wrong and finally finished it. Then disaster struck! When it was drying out, a flipper fell off and I knew it wasn't long before something else broke off. To my surprise nothing fell off, but it was a bit roughed up in the kiln... Oh well, I still had plenty of fun making this piece and overcoming any challenges that were in my way. |
Getting better one piece at a time
I literally just wrote about the two pieces I feel show my growth as an artist, so I guess I'll write about them again. As I said before, I used techniques from previous pieces and applied them to both of these pieces. I have managed to do things that I wasn't able to do when we first began ceramics, such as making coils go in, out, and in again in making a pot. I believe I've also shown growth since both pieces are much larger than previous pieces I have made in beginning ceramics. Sure they might provide more of a challenge, but I have manage to work past any obstacle that I've stumbled upon. You know what they say, the bigger they are the harder they fall. I have experienced this one to many times while building my turtle-hydra. Many things have broken off and I have managed to put them back on one way or another. I feel if I was working on something like this last year, I would have given up on trying to fix it. This year I used the skills I've developed in the short time I've taken ceramics and finish this hydra; one of my most successful pieces.
Doing our own thing
I remember last year in ceramics when we had to make a certain piece, but use the method our art teacher wanted us to use. This year, we have theme that our pieces must revolve around, and we may use which ever method of building we like. Personally, I love this new method our teacher has been using for this year. I feel this allows us to continue to use a method we enjoy and focus on improving our skills using that method. Instead of constantly changing which method we have to use and using a method some students might dislike more than others. For example, say we are assigned to make usable containers, one student could use the slab method while another might use coils. There could also be a student who wants to use his or her own method to build a container. They each can find a way they like to sculpt and continue to learn more and more about whatever method they choose. We also have the privilege to try and improve our skill in a method we are not yet comfortable with. I have felt myself improve with coils and plan to try to improve with slabs. Even if I don't feel myself improve with slabs, I can still continue to use coils and continue to improve my use of coils.