Rattle

Personal Comment: For this project I started by making two pinch pots, inside one of the pots I put small balls of clay wrapped in newspaper, this was so that once it was fired the ball the way would make project rattle when shaken. To form the basic structure I blended the two pinch pots together to make a hollow egg shape. My design was of a cartoon bear, so I added the limbs and head to the initial structure. Then after it was first fired I used low fire glazes (brown, red, white, and black) to give it color. If I were to do this project again I would probably work on making it look more realistic, the way it is now sort of looks like a bear but then again it also looks like a Muppet.

Harry Truman's Head

 Personal Comment: For this project the instructions were to make a bust of a real human person. I chose to make Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. I started by forming the shape of the head and shoulders with newspaper and tape. Then I wraped cellophane around it so that it would be easier to remove once the clay was dry. Over that I lay layers of clay, then using tools and my hands I shaped the face and added layers of clay where I saw fit. To make the suit I rolled clay out and cut it to the right shape then layered it over the shoulders. I even added a little American flag pin, to make it more official. Normally he had glasses on however I was going to add those on after firing so that they would be less likely to break off during the process. I am overly happy with how this project turned out, I believe it is one of my best ceramic projects so far. I would not have done anything different.

Bowl on the Wheel

Personal Comment: This is the bowl I made on the Wheel. I started with a ball of clay, then on the wheel I formed the cylinder shape, then slowly worked the sides out so that the cylinder became a bowl. It turned out okay, however I diddly check how deep the bottom was so it turned out to have a really thick base. I colored it with lavender glaze then dripped a dark blue glaze on the inside to create the pattern/design shown on the right. Next time I need to trim the outside sooner so that I can shape it easier. Overall I am okay with how it turned out and I use it as a key dish.

6 inch Cylinder

Personal Comment: This was our first assignment on the wheel, the instructions were to make a 6 inch cylinder. I started with a wedged ball of clay then on the wheel I centered it, then raised the clay into the cylinder shape. Then once it was fired I used a copper glaze and dripped fridge white glaze in the middle. It didn't work quite work out as I hoped but I got more or less the general shape right. Next time I need to use more water on the clay when I am shaping it so that it turns out even on all sides.

First Time on the Wheel

Personal Comment: Before I attempted the 6 inch cylinder that was assigned I wanted to try making something much simpler and less ambitious. So I made this small cat dish. I found it difficult but not impossible to work on the wheel. I had a few busts before acually coming out with a usable creation. But now I have no problem centering due to the many attempt I had to practice when making this. After the dish dried I dipped it in white then dripped black glaze on to it. The black turned out to be more of a brown but that okay, I still like the way it looks now.

Coil Pot (Ceramics 1-2)

Person Comment: To make my coil pot I started by rolling out clay with my hands then making individual coils to connect together. The original project was 10 inches tall and looked like a vase  but sadly it was injured before the first firing. Only half of it remained (but at least that's something). To glaze it I dipped the pot into fringe white glaze and let that dry for a day. Then I proceed to spatter blue glaze on the inside and the outside of the pot. The glazing turned out exactly how I wanted it to, resulting in a spotted blue white mesh. I am still disappointed that the pot is not it's original glory but I am very happy with the end result I still have.

Slap Box of Noses (Ceramics 1-2)

Personal Comment:
This is the 7x7 slap box I made. I started by rolling out clay to the correct size then I cut out the slaps and slipped and scored them together. Next I wanted to at first make a face on one side of the box so I started by make the nose, and I ended up liking the nose so much that I made 17 more of them, and decided I would cover the box with them instead of just a plain old face. I dipped the whole box in a white glaze then I drizzled blue dots into the middle of it (not depicted) I didn't want to go into much detail with the glazing because I thought the noses were already interesting enough without over doing it.