im not feeling.

i am not feeling pottery i am just in a slump. i am having trouble throwing most days, i dont really want to cut the things i make and i am tired of the same old white glaze. the book is something i dread and this class has become more of an obligation than an enjoyment. :( its very sad.

trimming.

i am tired of ruining everything i make.
i stopped making vases because i cant trim them.
so i moved onto bottles.
i wonder how i am going to handle trimming those.

Kristen Kieffer Surface Video

We watched the Kristen Kieffer video Suede to Leatherhard and it was all about surface and different surface techniques! here are the ten techniques she reviewed and some notes about them!

1. Stamps

~Tools used-exacto knife, pencil, arrowehead

~carve into plaster the design you want

~ cut off the excess after pressing the clay into the plaster

~make sure that the lines are deep enough

~"suede" stage-after the clay is not sticky anymore

~cornstarch and finger used to mold, bend the clay and rock the stamp

*kristen keiffer

2. Slip Trailing

~bulb tool

~slip needs to be the consistency of yogurt

~use a practice tile before moving to the piece

~pause before the ending of the line then pull the tool straight up

~leather hard

*artist- catherine weisener

3.Sponging on Slip

~burn the sponge and the design desired onto the sponge

~paint the slip onto the surface of the sponge

~press the sponge straight onto the surface and the design will come out

~leather hard

*artist- erin furimsky

4. Paper Resist

~xerox paper

~use any shapes or cut paper

~get the paper wet enough to stick to the pot then press it on

~paint the slip on and using a needle tool, pull the edge of the paper up

~colored slip usually works best for this process

~leather hard

5. Combing and Dairy Queen

~paint the slip on and using the metal comb, comb through it to make designs

~using the slip brush make lines in the slip or designs

*tom coleman

6. Banding

~Banding wheel

~slip, straight lines, curved lines

~center the pot before working on it

7. Sgraffito

~dip the piece in black slip

~using the needle tool, carve away an image that will appear on the peice

*eva kwong

8. Mishima

~carve into the clay at the leather hard phase

~lay underglaze in the carved lines then sponge away the excess just leaving the thin intracate design in underglaze

*harris deller

9. Water Etching

~paint on the stuff (i forgot what is is called)

~ wash it off

*matt terhune

10. Sprigging

~making a mould of something and attaching it to the peice

whats going on in class!

SO! now that i am on to phase two of containment, i need some time to sit down and throw 6 vases. two that are 10 inches, two that are 8 inches and two that are 6 inches. i need to throw them at the same time becuase they all need to be the same hardness. also, i will need to trim and cut them at the same time so that again they are all the same hardness and in order for them to match when i cut them they all need to be there.

Next topic is!!!!!!!!!!!!! trimming.
AHHHH i do not know how to trim! i end up ruining anything that i make when i trim it! yes things do look nicer when they are trimmed but i am sick of ruining things when i trim them! so my solution to this is to keep just making things to ruin them and trim them and maybe maybe when i get to ruining my hundred thousandth peice, i will learn how to trim. OR there is one other solution is the throw the bottom small and wood stick A LOT so that they are not so heavy.

Glaze!
yay i am glazing all of my vases that i have right now so hopefully it will be a good firing!

past, present and future!

in the beginning, there was a chunky formless heavy black thing sitting on my shelf. i was a begginer so i produced begginers work. i am am not mad or sad that i went through this phase becuase it was necesary for my learning process. i then learned how to take weight out of my pot and how to pull walls that were center and had form. i moved up to half and half clay which helped my glazing process. i am now at the point where i can pull a ten inch cylinder with ease add form and smooth it so the glaze will come out beautifully. i get compliments on my work which is appreciated considering the hours it took for me to get to this point. i now throw in b-mix which also shows i have progressed. and next i plan to be able to trim and throw more advanced. like with ten pounds of clay or plates and bottles. next for me is crystaline and surface technique. this class has rewarded me in so many ways and i thank lisa for giving me an outlet and a haven when i need it.

A fourth of the way done!

I am one fourth of the way done with my senior year! i am feeling very sluggish when it comes to producing pots but i think what i have made is quality here are some picutres of my 9 exploratory forms for the containment project! also another note is that i only keep pieces that i think contain the elements of a good pot i am no longer a hoarder of my horrible pots! :)

Working!- what is working is b-mix clay! it is amazingly smooth and my pots are very soft and light! also what is working is my form and my altering the tops!

NOT working!-TRIMMING. hmmm this has always been a struggle of mine and while i would agree it does make my vases look a whole lot prettier i cannot do it. i end up ruining something that could have been beautiful. it is very frustrating to ruin things so i NEED to learn to do this.

Guest Artist!- Lynda Ladwig

I enjoyed our visit from the guest artist Lynda Ladwig. She believes in simplicity in her work which is something i can really relate to. Her and i share the same belief that what ever the pot is containing should add the color and details. her work aside from being handbuilt is functional. i enjoyed learning her techiniques and also the little houses she brought to share with us :)

I really loved her foot ring technique becuase it seems like the pot is trimmed but it is square!

where am i at?

this was my 12" cylinder and when it was to overworked Lisa told me to just make it into a canister so i worked it and then she came and did it for me. ha.


this also was meant to be a cylinder but i turned it into a pitcher and i will attach a handle.

these cups were thrown on arts wednesday and tom coleman slips and i do plan to attach handles and also slip them.

these are the vases i have made, i have been told thatt they need lids or to exaterate the form more like the one on the far right. the one on the far right is trimmed and i do plan on trimming the other two.

i need to come to open studio again and just become a producing machine!

10 places!

1. Lighting/ sunlight- i think lighting has incredible power. it is what gives life depth and allows us to see the beauty and art.

2. Cuppycakes!- mmmmmmmm yum art cannot only be seen it can be tasted, heard and felt!.. and smelt :) these are amazing, they make me happy and i really loved making them. baking is amazing becuase you dont know the outcome until it actually comes out!

3. shoes- holy moley. shoes i think have the most fasinating form out of anything. they are a necesity but they are one of those things that can have beauty. people are judged by their shoes and art in them is imparitive.

4. broken things- this was once considered art becuase someone had to design it but just becuase gravity re-designed it does that mean it still isnt art or has become art? gravity has the uncanny power to remake something without us knowing what it means.




5. clouds- they rock becuase they give the city new color, they turn your vision almost black and white. depth.

6.snapshots in movies- movies on pause rock becuase you find photography in the movies! this is just beautiful to me im not exactly sure why.




7. shopping bags- someone had to design this bag and what went into the design? marketing motives? what about the material? and the size? these are questions i also think about when creating art.also it says CO which are my initials :)

8. fire!- cool :) another one of those things that we cant acutally control like gravity but it is really mesmerizing to watch the flames dance and move.

9. gymnastics- the skill, focus, and muscles it takes to perform gymnastics is artistic. to think about how you are going to move and to picture in your mind is extremely difficult. when doing gymnastics you are creating movement and lines that are art..








10. hair!- another one of those everday things that can have art in itself everyday or on special occasions. it is hard but it is without a doubt art!

containment...

ok so for containment round II, i have decided that art contains my life. now how do i show this? with my art literlly containing life so get ready for it (drum roll please) i am going to make vases that will contain flowers!this idea came to me when the only thing i could think of to contain was life. my original idea was bean plants but i want life to be more colorful and filled with joy and what better way to do that then with flowers! what i want to contain has changed drastically from last year because as i mentioned in my other blog, i have changed. my family is no longer the strong unit we once were. we no longer have dinner together so that in effect makes me not want to make things that will bring us together becuase it just isnt going to happen anymore. im exploring vase forms and i hope this project will bring me some peace :)

Karen Swyler, of course! :) and a bunch of other random shig!

wow, so ya my artistic hero is Karen Swyler. i must say i am quite obsessed with the work she does just becuase i feel that i can somewhat relate. i mean after seeing her speak and her explaining that her art is inspired by relationships, more specifically family, and nature i decided then and there that it made sense. her art makes sense and that is a rare occasion for me to understand anything. the simplicity in her work is beautiful becuase i dont have to look at a whole lot to find a whole lot of meaning. i have been searching for why i love simplicity, soft colors, smooth forms and not a whole lot going on and i think i have got it. in the mess i call my life, there is not very much simplicity and quiet so i find it in the art. i dont want to sit and try to ponder what the artist was thinking when they made their very busy piece. i want somewhat of a blank slate, i want a little room to make my own interpretations of the art. ok back to KS because i just got really off topic!. The form that she makes seems to flow and work together as one almost like the pots do not belong apart but they must be together. Her art is wheel thrown and altered. after throwing bowls and altering them i decided that is what i must do i loved the look beucase it wasnt just a white bowl but i moved and had some flow and details without going overboard. same concept in the amazing work of KS. thats enough writing now show me the money!

growth!

this year i am a senior and i have realized that i am a completely different person from who i was even 3 months ago. i am severely busy this year, yes even worse than last year so AP 3D studio art (pottery!) is going to be imperative in my life. art for me pulls everything back together, it centers me and brings a small bit of peace to my day. i need this class because i find it therapeutic to use the frustrations but also it brings another set of

accomplishment. since i am reflecting, i looked

through my book from last year and there were a few good pages defiantly however i found myself b.s.ing most of it. now, art is real it isn't just another class to fill the 6th hour spot in my schedule. i am learning but i do know that i am in the process of becoming an artist and knowing that there is a drive and a will to learn will always be enough.

these were the very first project that i did when i joined advanced pottery and the goal was to make a set of 6 cups with handles. the form does not flow, i was obviously experimenting with glazes and they weighed probably 2 lbs each. i like to critique my work becuase then i know what i need to work on and what i can improve. i keep this picture becuase everyone should know where their journey started.

this project was a coupling project which was at the end of the year. you can see a HUGE difference between the set of 6 and these. i finally reached my goal of my own style that i actually like. these cups had the hour glass form that i love, are a matte white glaze which is the most beautiful thing i think and they were also lighter. even my photography skills in the cube improved ! :) hehe