Here's a pot I made during my high school days. I took one ceramics class while in high school. It was dedicated to hand building, not wheel throwing, but I remember wanting to try out the wheels. Because it wasn't a part of my class, it always seemed like a far off goal for me. It took many years, but I finally got a chance to try out the wheel in ceramics class. Handbuilding is easier for me, but I think I still try wheel throwing because of the fact that I didn't get a chance to learn as a teenager. Funny how stuff from the past still stays with you and influences you today.
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I had been working on this bowl for a while, creating it on the wheel, trimming it and most recently, carving designs into it. So I was a wee bit disappointed when it broke apart just as I placed it down to rest my hands. It probably broke from me gripping it too tightly as I was doing the carving.
I'll see if I can salvage it somehow and attach the pieces together again. I have to admit, the second image of the "fixed" bowl slightly resembles some ancient artifact. There's still a long way to go with this piece. Will it survive the first firing? We'll see. If not, I can take the individual pieces and attempt a kintsugi repair on it. Kitsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pieces of ceramics with lacquer and gold powder. The idea behind kintsugi is to highlight the breaks instead of hiding it, to embrace the cracks as part of life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi It can be a slow and tedious process to slowly scrap off a design, but it's gratifying to see the design come through before your eyes. I wanted to work longer, but it's tiring for my hands to work on small designs, so I had to stop to avoid overuse.
I wanted to see what I'd do if I limited the surface decoration to just blue and white. Didn't really have a design in mind when I started. Began with a few semicircles and then it grew from there.
I wish I could say that I have a vision in mind when I start out, but I don't. What usually happens is that I have a bunch of ideas floating around in mind, but nothing that jumps out at me, so I keep pondering. I stare at the piece in the hopes that it will inspire me with an idea for what to do. At this point, I'm usually anxious to just do something, so I put down whatever design is easiest for me and then go from there. I've been working on this crochet blanket for years. I don't even remember when I first started it, but I finally finished it today. 272 crochet squares. I'd crochet on the weekends while sipping coffee and listening to music in the background. Great way to relieve stress. Nice to have a feeling of accomplishment.
Now that this is finished, I'm wondering what to do next. Another blanket? Maybe finally try to learn amigurumi (crochet stuffed toys)? I've been wanting to learn amigurumi for years, but because it required learning time and needed to get started on something to keep busy, I never got around to learning it. Here are some recently completed pieces that I made. The one on the left shows how taking ones time to paint on the necessary layers of underglaze would look. Meanwhile on the left, this shows the fading that occurs when you don't do enough layers. It's a good exercise for me to see the difference.
Besides ceramics, I'm working to finish my blanket. I'm finally at the stage where I can work on the border. Because the rest of the blanket design is made up of rows alternating between off-white and brown, I thought the blanket needed something fancier for the border. I found a this overlapping scallop edge design online and decided to try it out. I like it. I think it will balance out the rest of the blanket well. It does require quite a bit of yarn, but I think I have enough for the rest of the blanket.
When I do ceramics, I like to go with the flow and not do much planning because I do lots of planning in my day to day life. However, I've gotten to the point where I have to keep track of each of the pieces I create.
It's very easy to forget where I am with the status of each piece, especially when they're all at different stages--some need to be fired for the first time, others need to get drier before I can trim them, and yet others need to be picked up from the completed shelf. That's why I take photos after each visit to the studio. Without a visual reminder, I'd forget what I did. I've also started making notes in a notebook. Though I wish I didn't have to be so detailed, I've found this is the only way I can work. Up until now, I've been working with B mix clay. It's what has been provided to students in intro ceramics classes.
I had been hesitant to try a new type of clay because 1) many are more expensive and 2) I wasn't sure if I was ready to use a new type of clay. However, I've seen so many other people use different types of clay and I had heard from a fellow potter that she had an easier time with a different clay. This past weekend, I finally felt it was time to branch out and try a new clay. I selected Navajo Wheel. Here's what I thought: 1) It's buttery smooth 2) Seems more responsive to what I'm trying to do. 3) It stains my hands 4) It's a hassle to clean up Overall, I'm excited to work with this some more and see if it really will make a difference to what I can do. The image on the right is my first vase made on the wheel. I ended up destroying it on purpose thinking that I could do better, but my creations only got progressively worse. Oh well. At least I have photos. The image above shows all of my daily drawings from 2018. It's nice to see them assembled in one spot because it allows me to see the full progression throughout the year, see what stands out. Also, it's just fun to see a visual diary to document my year.
I haven't been doing daily drawings this year, but I'm trying to stay creative in other ways, such as with my ceramics. I do miss the sense of accomplishment that came from posting each day, but so far I don't regret my decision to not continue with the practice. On an interesting side note, I recently commented on one of my friends social media posts where he had uploaded a video of his guitar-playing. He remarked that he was inspired to post because of my daily drawings. That was great to hear! Very nice to know that I made a difference in inspiring another person to share their creativity with others. |
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