Pinch pot principles of design

Some principles of design used

• Balance - entire elephant proportions balanced, nothing too big nor too small
• Form - overall shape of the elephant (animal) carefully thought about
• Texture - i wanted to make it to have a smooth texture, so I used a sponge
• Space - area between ears and between front legs relates to the emotion i tried to have the elephant convey

Pinch Pot Process (March 17, 2015)

I finally glazed my elephant. Originally, I planned on mixing glazes together to create a more unique effect. I thought about using these combinations.

However, I didn't read the sheet clearly and put too many layers of the base glaze. I thought about just adding more of the top layer of glaze, but apparently, too many layers of glaze can cause the glaze to peel off. So, I just stuck with the one color of glaze. I applied "blue midnight" (fired cone 5-6) onto the elephant 3 times (3 layers). Well, a blue elephant will match the mood of a timid, possibly blue (sad) elephant. 

glaze not dried yet

glaze dried

Pinch Pot Reflection

What I Learnt
I made an elephant out of 4 pinch pots and combined them together. I learned that squirting water onto your project is useful, but if you squirt too much, it can do more harm than good. Before, I squirted too much water onto the head, and the trunk broke off. So, now, I pay closer attention to the amount of water I spray on. Secondly, I learnt how to properly fuse together pieces of clay. I'm not supposed to rub at the crack and try to make it disappear. I'm supposed to "move the clay" in that area and then smooth it out. In 3D art, I just tried to make the line disappear, and that resulted in a crack after firing. Thirdly, I improved my technique when using the ceramic tools. I learned how to use a needle tool better and the things that other tools (such as the ribbon tool and wooden rib) can do. Another large problem I faced was that after it was fired in the kiln, apparently an elementary ceramic piece melted onto my piece, so the elephant was stuck onto it. It cracked when we tried to remove the melted piece of ceramics from my elephant using a hammer or something. Also, I learned that glazes cannot be trusted when I used them. It may look like a certain color on the picture, but after I used it, it never (or rarely) turns out that color. It is because I don't put the proper amount of layers of glaze. Blue midnight turned out black.

Design Reflection
I pretty much stuck to the design I had in the first place. I only changed one thing about it. I changed the form and shape of the elephant's ears. I was afraid that if I had the ears out and they were too thin, it will collapse. Also, I wanted to have the elephant illustrate an emotion - a timid, shy one. So, I had the ears flop down and cover parts of his face. That was the only change in my design.

(Note: vocab is integrated into the process)

Pinch Pot Process (January 27, 2015)

I spent a lot of time trying to smooth the clay out, especially in the tight nooks and crannies. I attempted to incise a design onto the clay, but in my opinion, it just made it worse. So, I covered it up with clay and smoothed it out. I continued to smooth the clay out. The eyes were kind of lopsided, so I had to poke new ones. Lastly, when everything was finished, I poked holes onto my animal sculpture to help the drying process. I had two main balls of clay, one for the head and one for the body. For the head, the holes leading into the empty space inside the clay were the eyes. And for the body, I poked a hole in a not as noticeable area. The holes were necessary because trapped air can cause the clay to explode (ceramic golden rule). Then, I left it out to dry. Now, I need to wait for around a week until this piece of greenware gets bone-dry, so that I can put it in the kiln.

attempt to incise

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.

Pinch Pot Animal Inspiration

When I was brainstorming about what I wanted to make using the pinch method, I looked through the web to find inspiration. I saw flower pinch pots, animal pots, and intricately designed pots. If I made pots, I thought about having an overall theme for them. I thought about making a nature scene with flowers and a seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) theme. I thought about making animals, such as octopuses and elephants. I had a difficult time deciding on what I wanted to do. In the end, I decided to make an elephant.

I wanted the elephant to express an emotion. I was thinking of making it bold and proud or timid and shy. I ended up deciding to make it more timid. I wanted to make a more "cartoon" version of a baby elephant, exaggerating its ears.

I received most of my inspiration from Pinterest. It had a lot of great ideas on how to create and decorate pinch pots. It also had cute ceramic animals.

 

Pinch Pot Animal Introduction

Objectives:

• To experiment with the pinch method to create pots or an animal
• To experiment with different decorating techniques

Materials:

• Clay
• Sponge
• Ceramic tools

Procedure:

1. Wedge a piece of clay to remove any air in it
2. Form a ball of clay
3. Stick your thumb inside the clay
4. Use your thumb and fingers to form a pot-like shape
1. Make sure that it has even thickness
5. Smooth the pot out
6. Decorate it!