Soft Slab 3rd Mug

For this last soft slab mug, I decided to make more of a pattern design. First, I rolled out a slab of clay  using the slab roller and used a circular object to trace the base. After that, I rolled out another slab of clay and cut a large strip of clay to make the body. I repeated that to make a smaller mug inside the larger mug. To attach the bases to the strips of clay, I scored and slipped them, then moved the clay around that area to get rid of the mark. I also scored and slipped the smaller mug onto the larger mug. But for those two mugs, I didn't completely join the ends together to make the body. I overlapped the ends of the clay to emphasize that area. To make my design, I pinched off peaces of clay and rolled them into balls. Then, I flattened them, and scored and slipped them onto the body of the mug. I repeated that to make other circular pieces of clay and used applicay. To seperate it from the other patterend design I made with strips/coils of clay, I rolled out thin coils to act as "barriers" between them. To create contrast, I made large and small circles and thick and thin coils. For the two handles, I rolled out two larger coils and stuck by scoring and slipping it on both sides of the mug. I used a sponge to smooth out the clay. I used a needle tool to remove bits and pieces of clay in gaps. I left this piece of greenware out to dry until it reached bone dry state, and then I fired it in the kiln.

(as you can see, as I was making this mug, I would put it on a banding wheel to make it easier for me to construct it)

After it was fired, it became bisqueware. I put on glaze (the kinds of glaze I used you can see in my sketchbook) and aimed to create a reddish kind of piece. When I fired it a second time, I asked mr swinehart to prop up this mug because i was afraid that the glaze might flow. I didn't flow ( I think) so that was good.

My project kind of turned out the way I wanted. The colors didn't completely turn out the way I wanted it to, but it was somewhat similar to what i had in mind.

Final Project Vocabulary with process & Research

Vocabulary: (other vocabulary may be integrated in other posts)

• To make the main body of the teapot, I started off with using hard slabs (slabs of clay that are leather hard - some moisture evaporated) and soft slabs (slabs of clay that are easily bent, flexible). I made donuts out of hard slabs. The surrounding clay to connect it to make it one large donut were made up of soft slabs.
• I used a paddle and my hands to squish and get my teapot to the shape I wanted it to.
• I also used two small hard slabs to make a T-shape for the lid. Then, I used a portion of a coil (rolled out snake-like piece of clay) to make the top of the lid.
• I used a coil to make the spout, and then I cut it in half and scraped the inside away with a ribbon tool to make an opening for the water to come out of a teapot. Then, I used the applicay technique to make the spout thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top. I used a needle tool and scored and slipped (marking the clay and putting watered down clay) it to the pot.
• Next, I rolled out coils and to make the handle. I had a longer coil for the main part of the handle, and I had shorter coils to support the main part of the handle. I used the blowdryer to make the coils leather hard, and then I scored and slipped them all together.
• I used a sponge to smooth it out and made "feet" for the donut teapot so that it can stand up better.
• Lastly, I fired it in the kiln, where it went from greenware to bisqueware.
• After firing it in the kiln, I used a white  underglaze for the body and used regular glazes for the spout, handle, and feet.
• Then, I put clear glaze over the white underglaze
• I also glazed on lines and swirls onto the body to make it less plain

Reflection
I liked the outcome of my teapot. This is one of the few projects that I actually find decent. (But I predict I'm going to make it worse with the glaze) Anyways, I really liked the donut shape and thought it was pretty creative, so I decided to make it. However, as I was trying to make my wheel look more like a donut, it didn't really work. The insides began to fall and collapse in because of the lack of support inside. I tried to fix it, but it didn't work, so I made that indented part part of my design. I indented that part even more to make it look more intentional and less like a mistake. Who knew that your mistakes can be part of your design. I had trouble thinking for ideas for my handle. I wanted to integrate a chain as part of my handle, but it didn't work out that well. So, I stuck with something simple and made a simple but decent handle out of coils. Also, originally, my spout was a really simple thin one, so I added clay to emphasize it a little more. I was afraid that after it was fired, the part that I applied on will break off, but thankfully it stayed on. I put a good amount of slip and spread the clay like butter all over the place. I wanted to integrate the chains I made somewhere in my project, but I couldn't find a good place for it, so I fired it separately.

Next time, if I were to make a teapot again, I would plan a bit better so that I don't have to waste as much time thinking about what I should do. Also, I should try to provide better support with clay to the insides of the teapot. I did my best, but there were some parts I could not reach that lacked sufficient support. Also, I would make the feet of the teapot better, because it looks like two fat pieces of clay that randomly got stuck on. Overall, I'm pretty glad my teapot turned out okay.

Sgrafitto Vocabulary with Process and Research

Vocabulary: (other vocabulary is integrated in other posts)

• Sgraffito - scratching away at a layer of glaze or underglaze to reveal the contrasting clay underneath
• I used the pinch method where I got a piece of clay wedged it to remove the air bubbles, and pocked my finger in it to create a pot. I created 2 of those pots and combined them together. Then, I carved into the ball to create an opening and to make it a functional ceramic piece (able to be used in daily life)
• Then, I made a handle for the mug/cup, but unfortunately, the handle snapped off because I didn't score (marking up the clay) and slip (watered down clay that acts like glue) very well, and also because the handle is unable to support the mug (too heavy)
• I covered my greenware (unfired piece of clay) with underglaze. I put 3 coats of black underglaze on the body and white underglaze for the handle.
• Then, I used the sgraffito technique and attempted to make a world map on it.
• After that, I left my ceramic piece out until it was bone dry (all moisture evaporated from the ceramic piece) and fired it in the kiln (hot thing-like oven).
• After it is fired, it became bisqueware. I put a few layers of clear glaze over the body and the handle.
• It needs to be fired once more to get the glossy look of the clear glaze.

Reflection

Not sure if its bad luck or poor craftsmanship, I had to restart on this sgraffito project due to cracks. Originally, I made a coil pot with a fat body and thin neck. I covered that with underglaze. However, when I left it out to dry, it cracked, and so I completely started over with another project. I made a ball using two pinch pots. I wanted to make a globe, but I forgot that it had to be functional, so I ended up carving a hole in my ball to make a "mug". So, I settled to make a worldmap mug. The walls were pretty thick because I compacted it when making a ball. After covering it with underglaze, it cracked yet again. I didn't have the time to redo it again, so I just stuck with it and prayed that it wouldn't crack to the point of it falling apart. Thankfully, it didn't. :) I did my world map sgraffito on it. It was pretty hard to get the details, but I tried my best. I tried to get the proportions right, but I'm pretty sure the Europe and Asia I sgraffitoed on was larger than it was supposed to be. As I was doing it, I was careless and held the handle, accidentally breaking the main part of the handle apart. Oops. I also accidentally set my mug down too hard, and the bottom part of the handle broke apart too. Oh well. I broke a golden rule of ceramics and didnt handle my ceramic piece with two hands. So, I plan on sticking it back together after everything is fired.

Next time, if I were to do this kind of project again, I would be more careful when constructing it to prevent cracks and broken handles from occurring. Also, I would think through my project and plan even more to again prevent other mistakes. Doing sgraffito was pretty fun, but it was also time consuming for my part.

I saw many cool sgraffitto projects on the shelves, but I didn't touch them (ceramics golden rule).

Final Project Inspiration / Research

Final project inspiration/research

I was looking through pictures of creative teapots when I saw one with a  hole. I thought it was really cool and wanted to make something like that. I looked on youtube or something regarding how to make a donut-shaped teapot. The ones I saw used the wheel. I don’t know how to use the wheel, so I figured out how to make it using hard slabs and soft slabs. The circular shape of the teapot was quite unique to me. I also liked how thin and long spouts looked on a donut-shaped teapot, so I decided to imitate it slightly. I thought about making the donut itself a handle (like you stick your hand through and hold it), but I ended up making a handle for it.

I also thought about making a biographical totem pole like the native Americans did. I thought about making animal heads or faces as the design. But in the end, I didn’t create a totem pole mainly because of glazing. I’m really bad at glazing and to create the vibrant colors like native American totem poles will be difficult.

(Here are some more donut pictures that inspired me.)

(I thought about making a real donut)

Sgrafitto Inspiration / Research

Sgrafitto inspiration/research

I thought about making either some sort of pattern design or a focus on a main object. I like trees, so I thought about making one. I saw a few pretty cool sgrafitto trees on the internet and was inspired by that.

I also came across a sgrafitto artist. They use many different bright colors to create a scene on a mug, plate, or simply on any piece of ceramic piece. Unfortunately, I cannot find the site again. But, the ceramic piece that I really liked from that artist was an underwater theme. There were blue whales on it. She cleverly used the scrafitto technique to illustrate the waves. I also thought about doing something similar to that – having an animal on the pot and giving it a repeating patterned background.

A few other pieces of sgrafitto art stood out to me, and I thought about imitating the style of those pieces. For example, some of them had rims or borders with designs on them. Also, for one of the ceramic pieces (pictured above), a portion of the piece seems like its gray colored. However, that illusion is caused by the spacing in between the underglaze. I thought about doing something like that.

Hard Slab Inspiration

I find an interest in tape art. Pretty much, I like art that is more arts and crafts-sy. I was thinking about what I wanted to make, and that idea popped into my head. My main design will be from glazing. After the hard slab sculpture is fired in the kiln, I glaze the areas where I want my lines to be, then I put tape over it. After, I will remove any excess glaze with a sponge and glaze the spaces in. I was inspired by whatever I saw years ago. Again, Pinterest had a lot of cool ideas regarding tape art. Some artists created an animal out of the tape. I might use that idea. However, we are required to use texture on the box, so using tape over that might not be the best option.

I also thought about doing a yin-yang thing relating to what we learnt in Asian Studies before, but I decided against it.

I also thought about doing a nature theme with a large flower as the handle. The texture and the lid will mainly be the design of the box. I might integrate a pond into the lid.

Hard Slab Introduction

Objectives:

• To experiment with leather-hard pieces of clay to form a sculpture

Materials:

• Clay
• Sponge
• Watered-down clay (slip)
• Ceramic tools

Procedure:

1. Draw out your design onto a sheet of paper and cut it out
2. Roll a slab of clay out
3. Wait until the slab is leather-hard (use a blowdryer)
4. Using the score and slip method, stick them together.