Pinch pot cut in half
For this project, I went in decently confident due to my past experience with ceramics, pinch pots are something I did often. I started by getting my clay and wedging it. Then I rolled it into a ball and created a hole with my thumb. I started slowly rotating the clay as I pinch between my thumb and other fingers to thin the walls of the pinch pot. I keep doing this till the pinch pot's wall width is relatively even all the way around but the walls are still too thick. Then I start pinching again, but now I am additionally pulling slightly upward while I pinch to make my pinch pot more like a cup than a bowl. Once I am satisfied with the width and height of the walls I smooth over the whole cup to have no cracks or bumps. This piece wasn't fired and the clay was too dry and cracked so it went into the slop bucket. I am proud of myself for the success of this project because I was able to jump back into a skill that I hadn't done in a while and be okay at it.
Pinch pot made into something useful (w/ lid)
For this piece, my plan was to make sure that I had a strong pinch pot base before I decided what to add on. I began with wedging a piece of clay about the size of a softball, then tore off a piece about the side of an apple. I used my apple-sized piece to start my pinch pot, first rolling it into a ball and then making a hole in it with my thumb. I pinched the clay and tugged it slightly upward while rotating my clay. Once my pinch pot had taken the rough shape of a cup, I pressed the top/rim of my pinch pot to the table to flatten it and make it more even. Once I was satisfied with my shape and once the width was even all the way around the pinch pot, I smoothed out the entire surface with water. At that point I had decided that I wanted to make it into a small lidded jar, so I used the remainder of my clay (what was left of the softball) for the lid. I used the slab roller to flatten my clay, then cut out a circle that would fit over the rim of the pinch pot with a little overhang. I shaped and smoothed my lid with water, and then molded it to be the shape of a shallow bowl rather than just flat. Last but not least, I added small handles by scoring and slipping with a needle tool to both sides of my pinch pot and one on top of the lid. Once the piece was bone dry, I underglaze the inside with turquoise and made dripping patterns around the rim and the lid with the same color. Then I added black underglaze dots around the perimeter of the turquoise designs. After my piece was bisqued, I glazed it with clear glaze and sent it to its final firing. I am very pleased with how this turned out, I am going to use it to put my crystals in.
2 pinch pots put together
I didn't have a plan going into this piece because honestly, I didn't have any ideas, so I decided to just go where the wind took me and think as I go. I eventually landed on a vase. I started this project by creating two separate pinch pots with my same method of pinching, then pinching while pulling upward, and then smoothing it out. After I have made both of my pinch pots and made sure that they both have the same size mouth I score and slip the rim of both with a needle tool. Once they are scored and slipped I press the two rims together and blend the seam out with my fingers. When I feel like they are secured together enough I move to blend and smooth out the whole outside surface. At this point, my piece is in the rough shape of an egg. Next, I cut a hole in the top to create a vase, and so it won't blow up in the kiln. The next thing I did was wait until it was leather hard and then carve designs (dots, lines, squiggles) into the side all the way around. Once it was dry I used underglaze to fill in all the carvings I made with color (black, blue, purple). Then the piece was bisqued and I coated the whole thing with a clear glaze. In hindsight, I would have done more layers of underglaze to make the colors more vibrant and less spotty. Overall I really like how this came out, it is the perfect size to use for incense.
Small sculpture(s)
When starting this project I couldn't decide what I wanted to make because my little brother wanted a Baymax (from Big Hero Six) figure, my sister wanted a snail, and I wanted to make a banana slug. So I ended up just doing all three. I started by getting a medium piece of clay and wedging it, then I separated it into three parts (one for each sculpture). I rolled one of the parts into a thick coil and smoothed it out. Then I shaped the end of my coil to make it thinner so it tapers from thick to thin. Then I added small coils to act as an antenna to my banana slug. Lastly, I carved out the bottom with a loop tool to be sure it wasn't too thick to fire. After its bisque firing, I glazed the whole piece with yellow glaze. For my second sculpture, I started by rolling a thin coil and rolling it into a spiral with a little tail sticking out of the back to resemble a snail shell. Next, I formed a small ball and scored and slipped it onto the front side of the spiral to be the snail's head. Then I added the two antennae on the snail's head and used a needle tool to carve in the eyes and mouth. Once bone dry I underglaze this piece pink with orange dots for the body, and yellow for the shell. Last, I clear-glazed it after it came out of the bisque firing. And for my last part, I started by rolling a small oval, then rolling thin coils to cut the limbs from. I cut my thin coil into two even small pieces for the legs, and two even pieces that are a little longer for the arms. I scored and slipped all the limbs onto the main oval. Then I made a small circle and scored and slipped it onto the top of my oval to be the head. After making sure all the appendages were securely on there, I smoothed the whole thing out. Then once it was bone dry I underglazed the whole thing white and a little black for the eyes. I am very proud of these small sculptures, my little siblings loved them. The snail didn't turn out exactly how I pictured it due to the fact that the antenna turned out to look more like ears, but I ended up loving it because it was not as boring as a regular snail. And as you can see in the picture, sadly one of the antennae broke off in the car.
Relief tile
To begin this project I started by wedging my clay and then using the slab roller to flatten it. The original plan going in was to make underwater bubbles float upward. So I cut out a medium square from the slab using a ruler and knife. I then smoothed out the surface and edges of my square so they wouldn't be sharp when it was fired. After my square was ready I used the remaining portion of the slab to cut out various circles of different sizes and then cut those in half width-wise (horizontally, to make them thinner) with a knife. Then I put those into the arrangement and spacing I liked and scored and slipped them down with a needle tool. Next, I smoothed out the edges of the circles to make them circular and sphere-like. At this point, I was losing the bubble vision and had an epiphany that I should make them planets instead. So I used a pointed wood tool to carve rings around a few of the planets, carve a few swoops in the clay as shooting stars, and add a bunch of random dots all around the tile as stars. Then once it was dry I underglaze the whole background black, everything I carved white, and the planets an assortment of pastels. I made sure to do three coats of underglaze because I wanted the black to be solid black. After it was fired again I painted it with a clear glaze. I am really happy with the final product of this piece, the underglaze turned out just like I wanted and everything was well smoothed out. The only thing I might change if I could go back is add more stars scattered around and make each planet a different color.
Historically inspired piece
Actual Mexican Talavera Tile -->
As soon as I started thinking about historical connections with the use of clay and ceramics a Mexican Talavera tile popped into my head. I did some research and as it turns out these tiles originate in the Spanish city of Talavera de la Reina which in the 15th and 16th centuries became famous for its ceramics, they called it “La Ciudad de la Cerámica.” They were brought over to the new world by Spanish colonizers who occupied what is now Mexico. The styles and patterns of the colonizer's tiles mixed with the natives to create the recognizable type that we know now as a Mexican Talavera tile. Exclusively natural clays are used in the process of making Talavera, no chemically treated or dyed clays, and the process can take up to four months. These tiles are trademarked by diverse patterns and bright colors with a shiny glaze over the top. When making my tile I began by taking my wedged clay and rolling it into a slab. Then I cut out a square from the slab with a knife and smoothed out the edges and surface with my fingers. Ordinarily, with Talavera tiles, you don't carve them (just paint) but for mine, I carved my design before painting it with a small loop tool because I am not making a direct replica, and I wanted some texture on my piece. Once the piece was dry I used underglaze to paint on my design that was already outlined by carving, I used bright colors to give the look of a Talavera tile (light blue for the background, red for the petals, green for the leaves, yellow for the flowers center). Once it was fired I used a generous amount of clear glaze to be sure it would be shiny and it came out amazing. The only thing that I would change about this project is do more layers of light blue underglaze for the background because it ended up a little streaky, but overall I am very happy with this outcome.