THS Pottery-Brandon: December 2009

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sculpture Piece

For my sculpture I decided to make a pile of skulls. I used the skulls from my mold to make this pile. I only used five skulls. I was only able to glaze one skull, it was Iced White Celadon. I used the other four skulls to mount my glazed skull on. I crushed my skulls so only the front part was in one piece. Then I glued the cracked skulls together to form a platform. On this platform I put the glazed skull. I didn’t finish my platform skull because I felt that the unfinished skull looked a real skull.

No picture available

AOI: Approches to Learning

For the sculpture I really had to get some help. I didn’t think I had enough skulls. But then Filip inspired me to smash the skulls and built a platform. I’d never imagine smashing my work would make it better but I guess it did. I learned a lot from Filip making my sculpture piece.

Pods

For my pod I attempted to make a spiked pod. Each has 5 ridges with spikes on each ridge. The pods were different because one was the baby of the other. One had smaller spikes than the other. I made the spikes by adding metal nails to the clay. Going along with this theme of metal, I would like to attach my pods to metal polls like the stem of the plant.

No Pictures available

AOI: Human Ingenuity

I chose human ingenuity for my pods because I learned about man-made objects. The pod was half clay, which was natural, and half metal, which was man-made. I was also planning on putting this on a metal poll. I thought it would look good. I made the pods like this because it was unique and no one else was doing anything really similar. That is why I used the metal, no one else had thought of that technique.

Dipped Animal

Each stuffed animal had to be prepared before dipping. Before dipping I had to cut open my bear and pull out it’s stuffing. Then I had to cut out the eyes. After pulling out the stuffing I had to fill my animal with newspaper. Once stuffing my animal I had to sew up the holes. Then I could dip. I dipped my animal in porcelain slip three times to make sure it had a good coating. Once fired I glazed my animal. I picked blue celadon. I chose to use a celadon glaze because Lisa told me celadon looks good on porcelain.

AOI: Approches To Learning

From the dipped animal I learned a lot about porcelain and unique properties. Also I learned a lot about different firing techniques. For example, I learned that if you are too lazy to make something out of clay dip it in slip. I also learned that everything that goes into the kiln must be organic so it doesn’t kill Lisa. The last thing I learned from this experience was how to sew.

Molds

Molds are fairly easy to make. First you find an object that you would like to make a mold of. Then you must build a block of clay to stick the object into. Then you stick your object into the clay. The most important thing to do is make sure there are not undercuts on your object. An under cut is a location where the plaster will get under the object and will not come out. This is very hard to do with very complex objects. After inserting the object make four holes around the sides of the mold. Make sure they also have no undercuts. These will be the keys for the mold, so it locks exactly into place. After making the keys, build walls up around each side of the block of clay. The walls should be about 2 inches higher that the highest point of the object in the clay. Don’t forget to add a coil of clay connecting a part of the object to the walls so you can pour the mold. Now you are ready to pour plaster. Once the plaster sets remove all the clay, then rebuild the walls around the outside of the mold. Once the walls are built pour plaster once again. Then you have a two-piece mold.

To make a copy of the object you must put the two parts of the mold. Use a rubber band or duck tape. Then around the edges put a coil to prevent leaks. Then fill the mold with slip. Then you wait for the plaster to pull out the moisture from the slip, making a solid object that you can pull out of the mold. Don’t forget to pour out the extra slip making the object hollow.

I made a mold of a skull. I made many skulls and used them in my sculpture. This is one of my skulls.

AOI: Approches To Learning

I learned from this experience. I learned that I really like mold making and it is very easy to me. I think if I continue on in pottery this experience will prove very useful for me. From the molds I have also learned that everyone is different even if cast from the same mold. Each one of my skulls had a unique feature that none of the others had. I also learned that through the clay people can learn a lot about life.

Throwing on the Wheel

Wheel throwing is relatively simple. The first and probably the most thing a potter must do is make sure his or her body is even. An even body will allow the potter to use his or her body as an anchor making throwing more fluid. Next the potter must put the clay on the bat and make sure it stays on the bat. Personally I use the “electric monkey” technique by patting down the clay with both hands. After attaching the clay to the bat, the potter then must center the clay. For this process the potter holds his hands vertically and places them around the clay. The potter then pulls up on the clay and pushes it back down with the pads of his or her thumbs towards center. Next the potter must open the clay by making a v joint. To make the v joint the potter puts his or her left hand around the left side of the center clay. Next he puts his right hand on his left and pushes into the center of the clay. After making the v joint, the potter must make the floor. By putting his hands into the v joint and pulling outward on the sides. Finally the potter pulls the walls. The potter pulls his walls differently based on what he would like to make. To pull a wall the potter places his thumb and finger on each side of the wall and slowly moves it up the side. He pulls the walls to the desired height. On the wheel this is what I made, Lisa helped me a lot with it.

AOI: Aproches To Learning

Since this was my first time on the wheel it was a learning experience. From this I learned not only about the wheel and throwing but also artistic styles. Many potters on the wheel have their unique artistic style and it really shows in their form on the wheel. Each potter has a different shape that they throw. I learned this from watching others like Steven and Lisa throw. From this I can potentially learn about my own form but I need to throw more to find my form. I find that since I learn better by doing than in the future with more practice I will find my own form and learn a lot about my self throught this from.