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| Bowls & |
After four-months of grinding my hands on a spinning-metal wheel, multiple 20-lb bags of clay, lots of flopping, wedging, and recycling clay, I can confidently say I have successfully completed a semester of one of my first formal art classes, and in a medium I am not too comfortable in! Below are photos of my last problems of the Ceramics II class: a variety of bowls, a few 3/4 forms, and a composite.
The bowls represent simple dipping and pouring techniques in which each set (a different color) is provided with a small, medium, and larger bowl. The 3/4 forms are more decorative pieces where I wanted to use them as blank canvases for a variety of the application techniques we learned throughout the course. Some applications that I tried and really liked were the Xerox transfers (where I can take photo copies of my own drawings and apply them to vessels; very cool and different than the underglaze pencils I tried earlier in the semester) and Graffito (where you apply colored-slip to leather hard glaze, let is dry a smidge, and then carve out designs exposing the white clay underneath). My fourth set of bowls had to be decorated by a 2-D artist inspiration. So I chose, David Sibley, a well-known birder, naturalist, and artist. I copied one of his drawings, made a silk screen of an EASTERN Northern Flicker and applied it to my bowls. I also used a variety of underglazes to recapture his water-color and accurate color distinctions in his bird drawings. I was very impressed with that. My composite has been bisque-fired, glazed, and fired in a reduction atmosphere. I am pretty pleased with the outcome result. A little bit too dark than what I anticipated, but I keep envisioning a morning hike and seeing a tree emerge from the fog of a cloudy, fall morning. I like that gloomy-at-dawn impression it represents. But my work is up for interpretation...Stay tuned: I'll post photos of my 3/4 forms closer up for more viewing.
Ceramics has definitely challenged me as an artist, and I really enjoyed my progression and journey. I know I have a lot to learn about this medium and know I still have not made my 'best' pieces with clay yet. But I'm interested to see if I continue with this medium and excited to see what my hands will create next! Overall, very impressed with successfully surviving my first formal art class and what I have been able to create. It's nice being back in a studio (even though I was not dancing in this one). Hopefully I can get into another art class to clear my insanity for the spring.
TheChristyBel
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| 'Mother Earth' |
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