Pinch Pot Process (January 21, 2015)

To start off, I first had to wedge the clay to remove any air or trapped bubbles inside (ceramic golden rule). I formed balls of clay and in total, pinched a total of four pots. Two of them were smaller than the other two. I combined the two smaller ones by scoring the sides and applying water to form the head. I did the same with the two larger ones to form the body. I had to be careful to make sure that the clay was no thicker than my thumb (ceramic golden rule). Next, I pinched a trunk from the ball of clay. I squished the head a bit to make the face more angular and less round. Then, I rolled out thick strips of clay for the legs. the front legs appeared to be longer than the back ones (the ones the elephant would be sitting on). I used the clay rolling machine to get an even thickness of clay for the ears. The ears were difficult to form because I was unsure of how elephant ears are shaped.

Once, when I was packing up, I accidentally squirted way too much water on the clay. The next class I worked on it, the clay was too moist and difficult to work with. The ears were really wet. The trunk was very flimsy. From then on, I payed closer attention to the amount of water I squirt on.

When all the pieces were ready, I started to attach them together. I used the score and slip method, where you mark the surfaces of two pieces of clay and use wattered down clay as glue.. I first attached the front legs to the body. Next, I attached the back legs. Then, I attached the ears. I had to carefully figure out a good position for the ears that will show a timid posture/form of the elephant. It was difficult to smooth the clay out after putting the legs and ears on. As I attached the parts, I had to "move the clay around" in those locations. As a result, I left quite a few marks on surfaces that were supposed to be smooth. There were a lot of narrow gaps that I was unable to reach. I tried to smooth it out, but I was making it worse. In the end, I removed the ears, smoothed the clay out, then carefully attached the ears back on. It turned out better.

When i worked on it today, I found out that the elephant trunk was broken. Perhaps, I didn't put the clay in the bag carefully. Or, it could have broken because I squirted too much water, making the trunk unsturdy. But, I repaired it. I hope nothing falls off or breaks off this time. Everytime after I work on a project and am not finished I would wrap it up in a plastic bag (ceramic golden rule) to prevent it form drying up.