Discovery

            Discovery, by definition, is the action of finding something unexpectedly or in the course of a search. Throughout my first semester as an advanced student I have depended and thrived on the discovery of new techniques, ideas, and knowledge when it comes to my ability to make ceramics art. Through my art I have been able to discover my strengths and weaknesses as a blooming ceramicist, not only in my abilities to form and mold clay into different shapes I’ve never worked with before, but also through the use of specific techniques that I have grown particular to (i.e. glazes, sizes, forms, shapes, textures, motifs, etc). The acquiring of these new techniques, themes, and confidences in my abilities to create my own inspired art has allowed me to discover art in a different point of view, and will subsequently allow me to grow and expand my knowledge as it is acquainted with art.  

            The projects that I am using to demonstrate the use of my theme, discovery, in my year of ceramics include an older cylinder, my set of three vases, two smaller similarly glazed vases, and a planter that is hand altered. The first project is a small cylinder that I made in the beginning of the semester. It has some carved images, contrasting glazes, and a rudimentary shape. My next pieces include my set of three vases, all of which are glazed in identical matte turquoise glaze, but have slightly different shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. Next I have two petite vases, both of which are glazed in cobalt blue and off white, however, the placement of the glazes and the texture of the vases’ outer surfaces emphasize the different shapes. Lastly I have a wheel thrown planter that has a hand made clay nest with 3 eggs slipped and scored on its lip. It has been colored with coordinating glazes that contrast with one anther, thus emphasizing the stained drawings on the surfaces.

            The beginning cylinder project was a wheel thrown project that was accidentally deformed during footing. However, I did not let the accident stop me, and I was able to then carve images of leaves and an undulating line along the bottom of the cylinder, and I added a carved, indented foot ring, all of which helped to disguise the marks from the footing accident. It was lastly glazed with contrasting colors that emphasize the images carved into it. The three wheel thrown vases, which are my set of three, each have different thicknesses and slightly varying forms, one having thicker walls and a flatter lip, and another being thinner, with a flared lip. All three are glazed in turquoise matte glaze, which allows the differences in their forms to stand out. The two vases were wheel thrown, pulled, and choked to form the shapes, and one of the vases is hand altered with carved lines that wave slightly, all moving upwards, like grass reeds, which is a reoccurring motif in this particular project. Both vases were glazed in cobalt blue and off white, but one was dipped and one was hand painted. Lastly, my planter project was thrown on the wheel and then altered by slipping and scoring a hand made clay nest with 3 small eggs inside it onto the lip of the planter. It was hand brushed with off white glaze, and the nest in metallic brown. Then it was painted with images of leaves and patches of grass on the outside surface of the planter with a green stain, and on the inside of the bottom of the bowl is a stained cherry apple red heart.

            In all four examples of the many projects that I made, every one demonstrates individual instances where I took the liberty to try new techniques or ideas that enables me to learn my strengths or weaknesses in specific sections of my art. For example, in my set of three I was able to discover my preferences as to the thickness of the walls of my projects. While making my two small vases I played around with different glazing techniques, and discovered my abilities to emphasize shape of projects with the use of glazes and the textures you create with them. The contrast between my first cylinder of the year to my final planter project demonstrates how much I have discovered about my likes and dislikes, as well as strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to my art.

            Last year, as a beginning ceramics student, I was just starting to learn the motions and physical rules of working with clay in making ceramic projects, but this year, as an advanced student, I was able to fully discover what my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes are when it comes to creating ceramic projects. I was able to discover a variety of different forms and shapes of wheel thrown projects, as well as being able to try new techniques when it came to hand and wheel projects, glazing, etc. All in all this semester I have been able to expand my knowledge and skills as a ceramicist through my discovery of my skills in pottery. 

Discovery

            Discovery, by definition, is the action of finding something unexpectedly or in the course of a search. Throughout my first semester as an advanced student I have depended and thrived on the discovery of new techniques, ideas, and knowledge when it comes to my ceramics art. Through my art I have been able to discover my strengths and weaknesses as a blooming ceramicist, not only in my abilities to form and mold clay into different shapes I’ve never worked with before, but also through the use of specific techniques that I have grown particular to, i.e. glazes, sizes, forms, shapes, textures, motifs, etc. The acquiring of these new techniques, themes, and confidences in my abilities to create my own inspired art has allowed me to discover art in a different point of view, and will subsequently allow me to grown and expand my knowledge as it is acquainted with art.  

            The three projects that I am using to demonstrate the use of discovery in my year of is include an older cylinder that I made in the beginning of the semester. It has some carved images, contrasting glazes, and a rudimentary shape. My next pieces are my set of three vases, all of which are glazed in identical matte turquoise glaze, but have slightly different shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. Next I have two petite vases, both of which are glazed in cobalt blue and off white, however, the placement of the glazes and the texture of the vases’ walls emphasize the different shapes. Lastly I have a wheel thrown planter that has a hand made clay nest with 3 eggs on its lip. It has been colored with coordinating glazes that contrast, thus emphasizing the stained drawings on the outside walls.

            The beginning cylinder project was a wheel thrown project that was accidentally deformed during footing. However, I did not let the deformation stop me, and it was then carved with images of leaves and an undulating line along the bottom, and a carved indented foot ring which all disguised the marks from the footing accident. It was lastly glazed with contrasting colors that emphasize the images carved into it. The three wheel thrown vases, which are my set of three, each have different thicknesses and slightly varying forms, one having thicker walls and a flatter lip, and another being thinner, with a flared lip. All three are glazed in turquoise matte glaze, which allows the differences in their forms to stand out. The two vases were wheel thrown, pulled, and choked to form the shapes, and one of the vases is hand altered with carved lines that wave slightly, all moving upwards, like grass reeds, which is a reoccurring motif in this particular project. Both vases were glazed in cobalt blue and off white, but one was dipped and one was hand painted. Lastly, my planter project was thrown on the wheel and then altered by slipping and scoring a hand made clay nest with 3 small eggs inside it onto the lip of the planter. It was hand brushed with off white glaze, and the nest in metallic brown. Then it was painted with images of leaves and patches of grass on the outside surface of the planter with a green stain, and on the inside of the bottom of the bowl is a stained cherry apple red heart.

            In all four examples of the many projects that I made, every one demonstrates individual instances where I took the liberty to try new techniques or ideas that enables me to learn my strengths or weaknesses in specific sections of my art. For example, in my set of three I was able to discover my preferences as to the thickness of the walls of my projects, and the contrast between my first cylinder of the year to my final planter project, demonstrates how much I have discovered about my likes and dislikes, as well as strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to my art.

            Last year, as a beginning ceramics student, I was just starting to learn the motions and physical rules of working with clay in making ceramic projects, but this year, as an advanced, I was able to fully discover what my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes are when it comes to creating ceramic projects. I was able to discover a variety of different forms and shapes of wheel thrown projects, as well as being able to try new techniques when it came to hand and wheel projects, glazing, etc. All in all this semester I have been able to expand my knowledge and skills as a ceramicist through my discovery of my skills in pottery. 

I Theme

Discovery: the action of finding something unexpectedly or in the course of a search

~ finding my strengths and weaknesses as a ceramicist

~ making new projects with different shapes and forms I’ve never worked with before

~ discovering what specific techniques I like, in terms of how thick I make my projects, the glazes, sizes, forms, shapes, textures, etc.

II What

Older cylinder with carved images, contrasting glazes, and a rudimentary shape.

Set of three vases, all with the same glaze, but slightly different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses varying among the three.

Two small vases with identical glaze colors, but with different applications of the glazes, and different shapes.

A wheel thrown planter that has a hand made clay nest with 3 eggs on it’s lip, with color coordinating glazes, and stained drawings on the outside.

III How

Wheel thrown cylinder that was accidentally deformed when footing, it was then carved with images of leaves and an undulating line along the bottom, and a carved indented foot ring. Glazed with contrasting colors that emphasize the images carved into it.

Three wheel thrown vases, each with a different thickness and slightly varying form, one having thicker walls and a flatter lip, and another being thinner, with a flared lip. All three glazed in turquoise matte glaze, which allows the differences in their forms to stand out.

The two vases were wheel thrown, pulled, and choked to form the shapes, and one of the vases is hand altered with carved lines that wave slightly, all moving upwards, like grass reeds. Both glazed in cobalt blue and off white, but one was dipped and one was hand painted. 

A planter that was thrown on the wheel and then altered by slipping and scoring a hand made clay nest with 3 small eggs inside it onto the lip of the planter. It was hand brushed with off white glaze, and the nest in metallic brown. Then it was painted with images of leaves and patches of grass on the outside surface of the planter with a green stain, and on the inside of the bottom of the bowl is a stained cherry apple red heart.

IV Why

In all four examples of the many projects that I made, every one demonstrates individual instances where I took the liberty to try new techniques or ideas that enables me to learn my strengths or weaknesses in specific sections of my art. For example, in my set of three I was able to discover my preferences as to the thickness of the walls of my projects, and the contrast between my first cylinder of the year to my final planter project, demonstrates how much I have discovered about my likes and dislikes, as well as strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to my art.

V Conclusion

Last year, as a beginning ceramics student, I was just starting to learn the motions and physical rules of working with clay in making ceramic projects, but this year, as an advanced, I was able to fully discover what my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes are when it comes to creating ceramic projects. I was able to discover a variety of different forms and shapes of wheel thrown projects, as well as being able to try new techniques when it came to hand and wheel projects, glazing, etc. All in all this semester I have been able to expand my knowledge and skills as a ceramicist through my discovery of my skills in pottery. 

Below is a project that I made in ceramics that I based off an idea that I got from a website online, as mentioned in my earlier posting. I am extremely happy with this project! One of my best I must say! :)

My theme for the quarter is discovery; the action of finding something unexpectedly or in the course of a search. Throughout this quarter I have just begun to discover my true talent, skills, weaknesses, and strengths as an artist working in ceramics. Most, if not all, of my projects were made without any pre-planned form in mind, even if I had an idea of what I wanted to make, if the clay wasn't working for the that particular idea, I simply went with the flow and sought out the possibilities of what I could make. 
Above are the projects that I am thinking of using for my Final Essay, each one has qualities about it that relate to my over all theme of discovery. Many of these project are the product of accidents and even pure boredom, but they are projects that I am very proud of and that demonstrate my feelings towards art in specific ways. Through these projects I felt that I was really able to get a better understanding of my skills as a ceramicist. 
My ability to create different shapes and the forms of a projects was not the only discovering that I sought, but I also tried using different glaze techniques, different thicknesses of projects, even different clay, and I was always deriving these new ideas from the suggestions of friends, parents, teachers, etc. or my simple imagination. 
I really feel that the message of my art work simply states: Have Fun and Discover What You Can Do. Play around with different techniques, and the most important thing to remember is to not be scared to try new things, because if you never try you'll never be able to discover what your true skills and abilities are.

These were just some random pictures of projects that I liked, some of which I would love to try and see if I can recreate similarly, just to see if its possible. I really love the handle for the cup on the top row of photos.. Very different. We'll see if I can recreate any of these, I hope so! 

I found a website that has some awesome ceramics project on it, as well as other cool crafty things, I'd love to try and make somethings like those.. Indie Fixx. Check it out, pretty cute!

http://indiefixx.com/category/ceramics