Unit Four Projects

Plan

- I initially tried to make my monster bigger and hollow out the body, but this caused repeated collapse of the structure

- For my third try, I decided to make the body smaller, so I would not have to hollow it out

- I made the head and tail part of the same piece that the body was made out of, so I made a coil that was thicker at the head end, and then shaped the head and the tail out of that coil

- To make the legs, I made four same sized balls of clay, shaped them into legs, and scored and slipped them on

- For the wings and frill, I rolled out a thin slab of clay and cut out the shape I wanted. I waited for it to be slightly dry so it wouldn't fall over, and then scored and slipped it on

- For painting, I mixed several shades of yellow and red to attempt to achieve the ombré effect seen in the drawing 

Reflection

I am mostly happy with this piece. I think I was mostly able to capture the likeness of the drawing, although the wings, frill, and tail are slightly differently shaped than intended. I am not entirely happy with the painting, as I was not entirely sure how to make the colors fade into each other like I wanted. Overall due to the limited nature of the reference, I think this project was a success.​

Plan

- My first attempt failed because I hollowed it out too early and it collapsed

- On my second attempt I decided to try using terracotta

- I formed the body and the head separately, and added clay on top of the body to shape the wings, tail, and shoulders. 

- I formed the head out of a ball of clay and added the beak by scoring and slipping it on

- Before adding the head I hollowed out the head and the body

- I made a hole on the neck where the head would attach and at the bottom of the body that would remain open

- After adding the head I carved details to imitate feathers

- After firing I painted it using acrylic paints, attempting to generally recreate the color distribution of the bird

Reflection​

Overall, I am happy with this piece. I think the shape of it, besides some small errors, turned out very well and is very close to the actual animal. I also like the color palette I used, although I think it could have used some more variety. My main critique is that I think I should have added more height to the ridge on the top of the bird's head when sculpting the head. I also think I could have painted it differently, although I'm not sure how. 

Plan

- I formed the box by rolling out a slab of clay and measuring and cutting out the sides and bottom

- I scored and slipped them together, and then added extra clay in the crevices in order to reinforce the connection

- To make the lid, I measured and cut a slab of clay. I then used my finger to create a groove around the lid so it would sit on the box better

- To make the flower, I used small balls of clay, flattened them out, and shaped them into petals. I made each petal individually and scored and slipped them on

- I underglazed the flower with a purple glaze and then the whole box with a green glaze, except the inside which I painted white

- I used sgraffito to create the patterns of leaves and vines on the sides and top of the box 

Reflection

I am mostly happy with this piece. I really like the design of it and I am particularly happy with the flower, which was difficult for me to get right. The only thing I am unhappy with is that the lid does not fit on the box very well. This is my fault, as I did not spend enough time making sure the lid fit before I fired it. However, I like the rest of this box enough to not be bothered by this.

Plan

- I made four shallow bowls using a pinch pot method, attempting to make them about the same size, depth, and width

- I cut the shapes of the stars, sun, moon, and rocket out of a separate slab of clay

- I scored and slipped them into the bowls as relief carvings 

- I underglazed each of them, and then clear glazed them after the first firing 

Reflection

I am not very happy with these. I am happy with the painting and I think, for the most part, the relief carvings are good (although I don't like the moon). However, the pinch pots are very lumpy and uneven. I think I could have done better with the initial shapes. This was a rushed project, and I think iit shows.