After midterms, my teacher wanted for me to construct one more 10 inch slab. I was clueless on what to create. I was thinking of making a pirate ship, but then I overheard one of my classmates talking about it. Then, I looked down and ... TADA! Idea burst. I was wearing a necklace that had an Eiffel tower pendant. I decided to model my piece after the French landmark.
Once again, I didn't plan my work. I was shorthanded on clay dedicated for that piece. So, I improvised. And, as my ideas unfolded, it strayed away from the Eiffel tower to making a slab of an A. Why A? I don't know. I honestly don't. It was a spur of the moment. It turned out well though. What's the use of an 'A' you say? I could probably use it for a bookend.
Ahoy Mate! (Slab Construction)
It was time to come up with ideas for our slab construction. Everyone already had theirs in mind, I saw most of their slabs were beautifully constructed vase-like organic pieces. I wanted mine to differ.
Instantly, I had an idea. Since I love the ocean and considering
that I already had a fish among my work, I decided to continue on with the nautical
theme. Initially, I wanted to construct a three dimensional shark...but, as it turned out, it seemed a bit farfetched to look like a shark because of
the rigidness of the slabs I put together. Then I thought of a whale.
Great. I'll go with the whale idea instead. It took days for me to complete the piece because I was trying to shape the sides outward so it could bulge and have a more realistic touch to it. Unfortunately, it didn't - it remained a stubborn square. If you look at it, it resembles a cartoon like whale compared to a true to life whale.
Goes to show I need to plan on my pieces more so it would turn out as hoped.
Interview with a Vampire (Pinch Pot Construction)
This will be my very first attempt to shape the clay into
something – a simple pot. So, I took a wad of clay and followed the steps our
teacher demonstrated a few days ago.
First step is to wedge the clay. Wedging means to prepare the
clay so it could be fit to work on. Our teacher stressed that it is very
important to wedge the clay before doing anything else with it in order to prevent any air bubbles from forming and to avoid any breakage of the clay in
the kiln.
Next step, considering that we’re aiming for a simple pot,
is to shape the ball into a clay. From then, we could begin to manipulate the
clay into any shape desired (keep in mind that we need to make it into a functional pot).
I literally went with a pot design (or bowl) as I was oblivious
to the fact that we could shape it into something more difficult, as long as it
functioned as a pot.
For its design, I went ahead with my initial idea of carving
with what seemed a vampire’s novelty teeth on the front side. Then, I took a
rock and began pressing it unto the lips of my piece to give it that "grungy" look.
Hence, the vampire’s goblet was born…even if it wasn’t an
actual goblet due to its short stature.
I took a second look at it and decided that, for its size,
it seemed too thick and heavy. I grabbed the scraper tool and began shaving some clay
off. It turned out well.
This piece could probably be used as a candy bowl, but from
the looks of it, my grandma and dad might just turn it into an ashtray. LOL.
Go Fish (Double Pinch Pot Construction)
For my double pinch pot construction, I started out with making two separate bowls, both with raised foot pieces. Design-wise, I was absolutely clueless. It was when I began combining the two bowls that I came up with a design. It reminds me of a fish...gold fish, koi fish, whatever - a fish! Tada! I just carved in the designs using my needle tool. It's a rather small fish though. . .
What time is it? Adventure Time! (Teapot and Teacups)
I am a super fan of the tandem Finn and Jake and the show
they star in, Adventure Time.
I’ve been wanting to incorporate them in my
designs for ceramics, but I’ve been skeptical and hesitant if I wanted to go
ahead with a coil or slab. Then our teacher mentioned for us to begin with our
teapot and matching teacups construction and design plans – boom! I got an
idea. Jake could be the teapot and Finn, Beemo, Princess Bubblegum, and Lumpy
Space Princess could be the teacups.
 |
| Finn is the human (carrying the sword) and Jake is the dog (who has Finn riding on his back). |
L-R: Princess Bubblegum, Finn, Beemo, Lumpy Space Princess
I didn’t want to make the construction of
the teacups (size-wise) uniform and I didn’t want to go for an ordinary teapot
with a stout and a handle – I went for something bold and simple instead. Although
my teapot turned out to look like a water jug, I’m still happy with the
outcome.
Sugar Lips (Coil Construction)
After our teacher demonstrated how to work the coil maker,
the class started on brainstorming for their coil designs. I had one in mind
already, I wanted to make a shoe…then I thought to myself, if I made a hi-top
model of a shoe, only the hi-top and laces would be made out of coil. So, I
brushed off that idea. Thing is, I already had made part of its design – time
to improvise. As a result, a mouth was born. I decided to call my creation:
sugar lips candy bowl. The whole bowl was made out of coils; however, the coils
aren’t visible because I smoothed them out. Overall, it was the simplest design
I have so far.
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