Soldner Sculpture
This is what we call a soldner sculpture. It's basically a very random piece that anyone could probably do because you just throw random stuff together with the outcome being art. What I did here was create three bowl-like shapes on the wheel and the smashed them together. for the final touch I used the black tool to create solid tubes that I used to uniquely wrap around this piece. I like how it turned out, especially the glaze. I used the iron red glaze and it turned out pretty smooth and shiny. It's definitely one of my best and creative pieces.
Chopstick Pot
I made a chopstick pot this semester. Unfortunately, it exploded in the kiln so I don't have a picture to display. Basically what you do is center the clay (obviously), and then you pull the clay until you form a cylinder. Slowly and carefully you start to bring the top of the cylinder together, so there is no opening at the top. Once the opening is completely gone, take the dull end of a needle tool and pick a spot where you would want the lid and pot to meet. Carefully push the dull end in at a straight angle without scraping away clay. The objective is to just push it in and created a ridge. After that let the piece semi-dry overnight. The next day put the bat back on the wheel, take the pointy side of the needle tool, and at an angle, slowly cut the lid and pot apart. This ridge should've created a big enough indent so that the lid could slide right into the pot and sit like a cover. Have the chopstick pot fired, glazed, re-fired, and then you're done!
Donut Pot
I made a doughnut pot this semester. But, I have no picture because before it got fired, it broke. What I did for this piece is I used our extruder and created a two inch wide cylinder of clay. I hollowed it out and gave it a base, so that it could sit up straight. Next, I extruded an inch wide cylinder of clay and hollowed it out. I made this about four inches long and then stuck it on the side of my donut pot, creating the illusion of a tea pot. This can be done on the table or on the wheel. I preferred to do it on the table.
Lidded Pot
Another piece I made this semester was a lidded pot. All I did for this was created a tall cylinder on the wheel and then on the table I created a lid to place on top of my cylinder. It was a pretty easy and short project. I liked how it turned out though. If I could do anything differently I would probably try to pull the clay more so that the cylinder is taller.
Manipulated Bowl
I don't have a picture for this one because someone smashed it. For this project I used the wheel. I created a regular bowl and basically all you do for this is use your fingers to create different designs and shapes in the bowl. It is supposed to have a sort of awkward shape after, but its pretty cool looking when you are finished. Mine turned out pretty cool, but I wish I would've made it bigger. I also wish I would've gotten the chance to glaze this piece.
Stacked Vessel
I don't have a picture for this piece because it exploded because I made it too thick. I couldn't put it in the kiln. For this piece I generally did a coil pot, which is where you take rings of clay and stack them on top of each other and then a put a lid on it. I customized the lid with a flower. I think my problem was that I made the rings too thick and I didn't hollow them out, so that is why my piece exploded. Overall though, it turned out pretty sweet.
Final: Set of Four
Considering it was getting pretty rushed at the end of the year, due to our teacher being on paternity leave, I never got my final set of four finished. I couldn't leave that blank in the grade book because that was 40 points missing, which knocked me down a letter grade without it. As an alternate, my teacher and I decided on me writing a paper. He wanted me to do it on a famous artist and he chose the potter Mike Dodd. "I work mostly in stoneware, sometimes in porcelain, producing a standard but evolving range of strong, practical and affordable wares for the kitchen and home. Teapots, jugs, mugs, storage jars, bowls, ovenware casseroles, serving and cooking dishes, vases and bins. They are all made on a foot-propelled continental kickwheel. I also devote some of my time to ‘individual pieces’ which extend the intuitive and experimental aspects of the work." -Mike Dodd