5 Kate's Blog

For this blog post I recently began to research on how to throw a teapot set. There are many videos with different methods for how to throw teapots and there are also different forms. I used the artistic tool artists research and watching videos on Youtube of how to throw teapots and many different methods came up. My favorite video so far was from ‘KaranPotsandGlass’ because she was pretty basic with all the methods she used. I then began to write notes of the video and payed close attention to her hand positions and measures when she was throwing the teapot. She created a short and wide teapot and earlier when I was throwing vases I had the tendency of making them pretty short so I thought this would be a good fit.

I then began to sketch out how I wanted my pot to sit with the handle, spout, and lid. In the video she created two different types of lids. One was called the upright lid and the other was called a flange lid. I am going to create the upright lid because I like how it adds different shapes and dimensions to the teapot and gives it character. the first day I started throwing my pot was not the best because I wasn’t used to using three pounds of clay and that is what was suggested for making a decent sized teapot. I am going to use the artistic skill artists reflect and look into what I am doing wrong that is creating the opening to my teapot too big and fix it as I keep practicing and throwing more.

Before winter break I began to work on the wheel. I mainly focused on making plates because I didn’t enjoy throwing bowls as much. Once I became familiar with the steps of throwing plates I began to perfect. Trying to bring the edges of the plate was the hardest because they kept breaking off. I reflected and realized that I should keep the edges thicker so they wouldn’t break anymore. After a lot of trial and errors I finally threw a plate that I was proud of. The base was the right thickness and the sides weren’t too uneven. It dried slowly over break so it wouldn’t crack and I under glazed it and sent it off to the kiln.

For my next project on the wheel I am going to be working on vases. I began without looking at any videos to try and get the idea of it but that didn’t work out too well. The sides were way to thick and they were also uneven. The next day I went on youtube and researched how to properly make a vase. This video down below shows four different shaped vases and how to make them.

For the first few weeks of my last year in ceramics class at Spruce Creek High School. I decided to start with something that I am not comfortable with, the wheel. Before I began on the wheel I did some research on how to properly make a bowl. I wanted to make a bowl because it seemed the most simplistic item to start off with on the wheel. I did not realize how hard the throwing bowls on the wheel actually is. I started off by centering my clay so I would have an even bowl and then I brought the clay down and began to shape it into a bowl. I found that a lot of my bowls were cracking at the rim of the bowl when I got towards the end.

Every single bowl I was making was cracking and I realized that it was because I was making them too thin. I then started to make them thicker but I am not sure if I like the look of a thicker bowl. For one of my bowls pictures below I also accidentally made the sides different sizes. In the future I want to figure out how to make a bowl that is thin that will not crack. I also want to carve a bowl that I make after I throw, I think it would look really neat with a flower design on the side of a bowl.

 

 

Craftsmanship of artwork affects the the viewers perception of the time and effort spent on a certain piece. If there are flaws on a piece of artwork that could be easily fixed like smoothing the edges of a pinch pot or mug. I learned that when I’m making a soft slab tripod I have to be consistent and start off with a solid slab that has good connection when put together. Mastering the basics of a certain technique is what makes artwork clean and strong. If I do not know how to properly connect and smooth a slab together than how would I be able to successfully sgraffito it? I kept this in the back of my mind while I took the first steps of creating my soft slab tripod building. Starting of with smoothed sides and connection of the slabs ends to prevent any breakage in the future. Bringing the bottom together was difficult but with the right pressure and molding a received a shape that was wider at the bottom and skinnier at the lip.

As I began to apply underglaze to my mug I left it out to get a little harder and forgot about it causing it to sit over the weekend and turn bone dry without any sgraffito yet to be carved. I sprayed an abundant amount of water to soften the clay but it seemed to help only so much. Everything ended up fine because I still achieved the design I first imagined and it went off to the kiln. Within the next few days my mug was done and ready to be shiny. Applying layers of clear glaze to the outside and a unique color to the inside. I’m guessing it will be a light blue with a purple hue but I really have no idea because the test tiles of the Stroke&Coat was no where in sight. Hoping for the best on how this color will turn out but at the same time preparing my mind for the worst.

Comparative Study

For my final clay form of my project when I got surprised with two chocolate lab puppies I began making a pinch pot. When I was creating the pinch pot the clay kept cracking and it became uneven. I was trying to make the pinch pot fairly large so I could put the puppies in them but it did not turn out how very well. I thought maybe I could start making it as a coil pot so that I could really control the circumference of the laundry basket but I realized that was going to take a pretty long time. I later came up with the idea of making the laundry basket out of four slab sides to create the dimension of a square-ish shape. I cut out the slabs and it actually turned out better than I expected, the sides were clean and it was just as wide as I wanted even though I didn’t measure it before I put the slabs together. I am now starting to shape the dogs to attach them to the laundry basket. Shaping the head is pretty easy but I still don’t know how to make the noses of the dogs. I plan on going on youtube to find good techniques to make the dogs noses look cute just like they were when I was surprised with them. Over the two dogs I plan on making a thin blanket like they are hiding but then their heads poking out.

 

Throughout these two weeks I have been working the three different forms I have to create for my story of when I was surprised with the gift of two chocolate lab puppies hidden in a laundry hamper. I decided to make a sketch as one of the forms of when I found Amis and Samson (the puppies) in a laundry basket that my mom put them in to surprise me. I did not really know how to draw a dogs face so I used the artistic behavior Artists Research. I looked up videos on you tube of how to draw a dog and did my best trying to apply that to my drawing. I drew two different drafts so far and I plan on creating a better final drawing when my clay form of the story is in the kiln room. The clay form of the story is going to be a laundry basket with the puppies sticking their heads out of it while being covered in a towel. I began by creating a moquet and I under estimated how hard it would be to shape the puppies head but I figured it out. The towel over the puppies was really hard to create because the clay wasn’t the softest and it kept cracking. I got the clay wet and kept spraying it with water so it would not crack. I finished the moquet and it is now in the kiln. I don’t know what type of glaze I’m going to do yet so I plan on making some test tiles with the combination of colors I might use.

To start off with the year we all began to create letters for the library. I got assigned in a group with four other people to create the letter F. The structure design of the F was a little confusing because of the way the curve at the top was so it wouldn’t fall over when standing staging up. We had trouble getting all the slab pieces attached because some weren’t the right fit. We solved the problem by making a new slab and measuring the length and width of where they needed to go. After we attached all the pieces we started to sketch dazzle camouflage designs for what we would glaze. Everyone sketched multiple designs and then we compared ours. We all met at our table to collaborate and discuss which design to use and figured out we are going to make a mixture of a couple prints.

For this blog post I have been working on a new piece and I have also been working on taking good pictures for my finished tea cups.  I got my tea cups out of the kiln a couple weeks ago and I wanted to take pictures of them with a backdrop that would compliment the colors of the vibrant flowers on the tea cups. I knew that there was a blue back drop in the room but I didn’t think that would have looked the best for the reds, pinks, and greens in the flowers.  So I used the artistic behavior: Artists Solve Problems to find a place in my house to take pictures of my tea cups with a clean white or tan backdrop.  I eventually found the correct spot and took decent pictures.  For the new project that I have been working on I used artists research because I looked up online pictures of octopuses because I am creating a slab built lantern with an octopus at the top corner of the lantern.  As I started creating the octopus that would go on my lantern I had to pay great attention to the details on the creature in real life.  Their heads are shaped very interestingly being a little lopsided with the part wear their brain is so that was very difficult to create the correct shape of the head. I still haven’t created the tentacles but I think that part will be very difficult because of the suctions they have on the bottom if their tentacles and I am still figuring out how I will create them.