Unit 5 Projects
Alebrije
Planning:
I was scrolling on Pinterest looking for inspo, and when I saw this I was SOLD. I immediately went into trying to make this, while also making it my own.
Process:
It took me one class to make his body, and the method I used would later cost me. I start off by making a rip off pinch pot but in the shop of shell, I then molded his head and hollowed it out. I scored and slipped the head back onto the body when I was done. As for his legs I rolled out a slab and cut them out then scored and slipped them on. His face details were carved out by a needle and loop tool.
Glazing
I started off by painting the entire body of my turtle with leaf green under glaze; I did about 5 layers. Once I had completely covered his body with the leaf green I used purple under glaze and turquoise to make little spirals along his back meant to resemble his shell details along with some dots that spread throughout his back, legs, and face.
Finished product & reflection...
I want to start off by saying, I was super excited for this piece, and really liked the idea of it, so when it came out the kiln beheaded I was really sad, and mainly confused. I knew the head had been super stable, but I reached a conclusion. I quite literally made its head a bomb by hollowing it out, and not making any hole or way for it not explode. Honestly I think it just escaped me in the moment and the way I did it since I hadn't thought about it for awhile, but rest assured I will not be making this mistake again. (Hopefully.)
Small Bust
Planning
Okay, so this is a weird one. I had really been thinking about spongeBob and for some reason the episode with the merman had been replaying in my head, so I looked him up and got inspo from him.
Process
Going into it, I knew I wanted him to be bald and resemble a mermaid, but that was about it, so I just gave myself creative freedom. I molded his body by manipulated a big block of clay until it got to where I wanted. For his eyes I carved out sockets and then used coils to make the eyelids and little ball for the eyeball, for his nose I also used coils. As you can see on his neck he has little fish scales which were just little balls of clay I pushed between my fingers and pressed on.
Reflection on why it was never finished or fired
Going into this project I looked at it as a fun challenge, but I knew I would not be keeping or using whatever I made of it. I enjoyed making this guy, but I had a lot of there projects to complete and I knew this would take too much time (Poor time management is on me) I really wish that I had made his face pointing more downwards and that his eyes could've been more symmetrical. If I were to do this again I would take a rule measure and sculpting knife to make where and how far apart I want everything to be.
Anything useful
Planning
Both photos were found off of Pinterest and were my inspiration.
Process
I started off by making a simple mug with a slab wrapped around a talenti ice cream container. Once I did that I rolled out another slab and then cut out the outline for the hand of the mug and molded it with my hands to get the proper shape. I sepreatly cut the whale tail and scored and slipped it onto my piece. That was day one. On day two I solely focused on smoothing my piece out and all the small details.
Glazing
For my glazes Iused a combination of two mid fire glazes; Indigo float, and textured turquoise. I applied 2 layers of Indigo float throughout my whole mug, and then on top of that applied another two layers of textured turquoise. The cones were 05-06.
Finished product/not out of kiln + reflection
This is not out of the kiln, but im really excited because I want to learn the ways of misfire glazes so I can use them all the time without to many errors. In this piece there was only one thing I would have done differently and that is the placement of the whale tail. I realized when I was glazing that I could not glaze behind it, which is okay since I planned on this being a little pencil holder in my bathroom, but still I wish I wold have attached the tail to the side of the mug instead of the top.
Current Artist Inspired Piece~Kari Radisch
(didn't do) Planning/Facts about Kari
Kari Radisch is an artist who lives and works in Portland, Maine. Her pieces are amazing, and I think they super cool. They resemble a good mouth of modern and a good amount of old without being too overboard or too basic. She also makes wall wall pieces, which to me is super interesting, because I have never even thought to make a wall piece. I didn't get to doing this project but if I would have she would've been the first and only person I chose.
Mask (Did not make a piece)
Potential Inspo and facts
Tikki masks originate from ancient Hawaiin and Polynesian culture. Each mask would be hand made and carved from wood. They were all intricately and specifically made. All the different masks had different meanings,purposes, and traits they were made for but originally they were used for deities, meant to protect they're owners.