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.

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