8 Taylor's Blog

For this Anubis, I had to do lots of research. In my previous blog, I mentioned that our class went to the library for research. However, I had done more outside of that. I had to search for references of an Anubis, since I was unsure exactly what they looked like. After doing that research, I put together a basic image of what it looked like, then made the basic form. After that, I researched different jewelry that they wore, and picked lighter ones so the piece wouldn’t be too heavy, while still having that Egyptian look.

This project also required lots of risks. I find coiling to be difficult, and I had to make the chest with that technique. I wasn’t sure if it would work, as I have such a difficult time making even coils and shaping them, but it turned out to be successful and visually pleasing. I also had a bit of a hard time with making the headpiece, as the sides didn’t want to stick to the head. However, things ended up working out, and they attached nicely.

The dewey decimal project required a trip to the library for a bit of research. We looked through the books in our assigned sections, so my partner and I went through the history and language books. A lot of content stood out for me, especially the colonial and Egyptian themes. However, I liked the visual aesthetics of Egypt, so I decided to do something along the lines of that.

After deciding to do something Egyptian, I had to take a look at what I specifically wanted to do. While we were in the library, our class discussed a few examples of things we could do relating to our sections. I was debating on a pyramid, sphinx, or Anubis. I then shortened my options to either the pyramid or Anubis, and I set myself on the latter. I wanted a challenge, and it seemed like it would be more appealing and interesting to look at. Hopefully, the final result won’t be as terrifying as the third picture above.

The dewey decimal project required a trip to the library for a bit of research. After exploring the history books and discussing the content with classmates, I wanted to do something Egyptian oriented. I decided to do an Anubis bust, which I had to search up to find out more about what they look like.

I had to plan what I was going to do, so I drew out a pyramid and an Anubis. After looking both of them over, I decided to go with the Anubis because the pyramid would be too boring and easy, while the Anubis would offer a challenge and be more visually interesting.

The Flower

6.5″ x 4″

White earthenware clay

 

The Orb

4.5″ x 4.5″

White earthenware clay

 

Sunset/Night bowl

7″ x 4″

white earthenware clay, glaze

 

Maroon Mug

Red earthenware clay, glaze

Manatee Teapot

Red earthenware clay, glaze

 

The artworks above demonstrate my growth as a student by showing how I have improved with certain qualities, such as developing art making skills and using tools in an appropriate and safe way.

It is visibly seen that my artwork has improved drastically. The Flower and The Orb, two of my older works from the beginning of the year, are not entirely smooth and they are glazed very sloppily. Compared to the Manatee Teapot, they lack in quality. The Manatee Teapot, my most recent work, is smoother and glazed more evenly. It is much more clean and neat. The Flower was made simply by pinching and adding the petals and other embellishments on with slip. I didn’t even score the surface of the clay, which I would know to do now. The Manatee Teapot had a much more complicated process. I had to make an enclosed pinched form, smooth it, and carve out a hole for the lid and neck. I then had to make the head and tail, adding them on carefully by scoring and using slip. I added fins the same way. I then smoothed out the whole form before adding underglaze. Then, I took a needle carving tool and etched into the surface of the firm yet plastic clay. Finally, after it was bisque fired, I added a few coats of clear glaze. The final result was very neat and pleasing, even so that it got to be displayed at the Art Haus.

I’ve also learned how to use tools more efficiently. My carving work in The Orb and the Sunset/Night bowl is messy and poorly done. In fact, the carving done in the bowl is probably unnoticeable. In my Maroon Mug and Manatee Teapot, I used the same type of tool- a needle, to carve into these. They are obviously done much better than my older works, and I was able to create fascinating patterns and add small details. If I needed to add thicker lines, it was done with the tip of a pencil. Overall, I’ve learned how to add details that are neater and much better.

 

If I could redo a project, it would be The Flower. I feel like I could make the form much smoother and even. I would smooth out the surface of the pinch pot and the petals by using a rubber rib or smooth edge scraper. Then, I’d add a foot and the petals using both scoring with the serated edge scraper and slip. I’d ensure that everything was well connected before I’d add details on the petals and side of the pot using a needle tool, doing this using the sgraffito method. I’d then bisque fire the underglaze-covered vessel, then I’d add a clear glaze on top and glaze fire it. The result would be a stronger, detailed, neat pinch pot that bests the previous one.

 

The Flower

6.5″ x 4″

White earthenware clay

 

The Orb

4.5″ x 4.5″

White earthenware clay

 

Sunset/Night bowl

7″ x 4″

white earthenware clay, glaze

 

Maroon Mug

Red earthenware clay, glaze

Manatee Teapot

Red earthenware clay, glaze

 

 

Recently, me and a few others have been working on the potter’s wheel. Even though we’ve used it before, it was more of a “test drive” than any serious work. It wasn’t until now that we had a project to do on the wheel. It was a bit difficult at first, because we were unsure of what to do. After we were shown what to do, we had started getting the hang of it. It came to us more naturally, and we learned what kinds of skills and techniques you needed to use in order to make our projects successful. There are things I have definitely improved in, such as centering, bringing the clay up and down, and overall creating the form.

We had to work with new tools and old tools in new ways. We haven’t used a wooden rib before, which was a bit tricky. I accidentally poked the tip of the rib into the clay and made a big dent in my bowl, so I had to slow down the speed of the wheel and try smoothing at a different angle. We used a loop tool, which had obviously been used in the classroom before. But this time, we used it to sculpt the foot of our bowls. It was a bit difficult to make it even and symmetric, but once you get it you’re good. We had also used a wire tool and wooden knife before, but in different ways. We usually used them to cut clay, but the wire tool was used to remove the bowl from the wheel and the knife was used to clean up the wheel. We also used sponges, which we’d use to clean the tables but were now for smoothing the bowl, cleaning the wheel, and making sure that the bowl sticks to the wheel.

 

Image sources:

http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.1WznTI7xz4W_093deYfVlgEsED&w=205&h=175&c=7&qlt=90&o=4&pid=1.7

http://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.UYeplzbfUZqANxTDp3XHcgEsDT&w=276&h=195&c=7&qlt=90&o=4&pid=1.7

Developing art making skills is definitely one of my strengths. The first picture, as I’m sure you can see, doesn’t have good form, smoothness, or really any type of appeal to it. That was taken at the very beginning of the year. The second picture is from the middle of the year. The walls are pretty even and the surface is smooth. There’s no cracks and it’s a very big improvement.

 

Another one of my strengths is collaborating with other artists. I work well with other students, and we all work together to get things done. We made a box together for one of our projects, and it was very well put together. Everyone even did their own little designs, which somewhat matched a nature theme.

 

I think I could improve on communicating through my artwork. I think I should work harder on making sure that my artwork sends a message, and can make an impact and a personal connection with the observer. I try to send a message, but I sometimes think that the message isn’t clear or well-presented.

Embellished with/or in the form of a human

Terracotta stamnos (jar)

ca. 350 B.C.

Faliscan

http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/246579?sortBy=Relevance&when=1000+B.C.-A.D.+1&what=Clay&ft=*&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=9

Embellished with/or in the form of an animal

Terracotta lekanis (dish)

late 4th century B.C.

Greek, South Italian, Apulian

http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/255283?sortBy=Relevance&when=1000+B.C.-A.D.+1&what=Clay&ft=*&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=10

Pouring vessel

北宋 景德鎮窯青白瓷注子
Ewer

11th century

China

http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49214?sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1000-1400&what=Clay&ft=*&offset=20&rpp=20&pos=25

 

I chose these pieces because of their interesting detail. The first two pieces have really obvious details in their linework, and the third has small details in its form.  I learned that it is always important to credit sources using a web address and making sure that the content is public domain.

There were a lot of difficulties with this piece. I was unsure how I was going to make the form, whilst maintaining function and correct appearance. I wanted it to work like a teapot, but look like a manatee. I wasn’t expecting it to be too hard, but I was wrong. It was difficult to build the form, and I was worried the lid would take away from its manatee appearance.

I prefer original artworks over things that are copied. Naturally, I was going to do an original piece. My art is inspired from other artist’s work. I couldn’t find a single piece for a manatee teapot, but I’ve found multiple for shark teapots. I drew inspiration from that, and incorporated it into my project. All in all, I consider my piece to be very original, as it is not copied nor common.

For my Florida themed project, I chose to do a manatee teapot. This needed a lot of planning because I’ve never done something like it before. I had to sketch out multiple designs and think of a way that this could be used successfully. Even with the planning that I had done, It’s not quite enough, and I’ll probably end up changing the design, or changing it into a bank instead of a teapot if possible.

I also had to do a lot of research for this. Even with my knowledge of manatees, there were still some missing pieces I had forgotten, like the shape of their head and nostrils. I looked up a lot of pictures for reference so I would know how to construct this. I also read a few articles on manatees, so I could learn more facts about them and possibly put these facts into use by putting incorporating them into my project.