Animals or Bowls

I am really excited to do a baby panda sculpture, but I know that my biggest challenge is going to sculpt and make the clay position the body of the panda. I am looking forward to the end product and as long as I work diligently and keep trying I will be able to succeed and have fun with the project. 

End of 3rd Quarter

For the third quarter I was able to finish the Lidded Form project, the Tile Project, and for the last few days before the third quarter ended I came in before school and worked after class to finish the project. I was able to make four cups and I am currently working on trimming and adding lids. I will not be able to glaze, yet I am going to be able put them to fire. I was not sick or missed class due to an SOL, as the project to make the cups began I was still working on the Tile Project thus I started the cup project two days late. Despite the circumstances I worked as much and as hard as possible to get the projects in on time. I very much enjoyed all the projects, I especially enjoyed making the tiles and coming up with the design and instead of using texture to describe my word (bright) I was able to use colors and designs to describe it. One of the parts that I would like to change or to add is to the Cup Project is to make some cups and also be able to have the opportunity to make a bowl or another structure as well. I was able to practice making cylinders and improve my skills on making them. I was also able to learn how to trim and make handles, which at times it was a little stressful but at the end a great learning experience. I really wished we could have had more time to make the Cup Project, but as it turns out the project was still enjoyable. 

March Update

I have finished the Lidded form project and have glaze it. I am currently working on creating the six cups, as well as finishing the Tile Project. For the tiles I am finished with creating my design and have to only add the handles on the back for the tiles to be able to be hanged. In addition, I have to glaze and color the tiles based on my emotion; bright. We started working on the cup project the week of 2/24/14 and have been working on them until the present date, thus we have only worked on the project for three or four class periods.

Lidded Form

The Lidded Form project was really fun, I  enjoyed coming up with a unique design to apply to the hump molds. Instead of adding handles I was able to add the coils around as well as in the top. The most difficult part was to pick out a good texture that would go well with the type of mold I chose. Also I am working on the Tile project, first I have to pick out my design and then start decorating the tiles. When glazing the small box I plant to first wax the bottom, then start with the inside and fill the inside to about half way with the color I chose and then swirl it around for the glaze to get to all the inside parts. Then I will continue with the outside and glaze the outside parts. After while the small box is drying, I will glaze the top piece by it self, but at the same time making sure the sides of the top are waxed as well as the opening of the top of the small box for the two pieces to fit well together. For the tiles I will first paint the design I choose, and then move to glazing each tile individually to perhaps use different colors per tile. Both of the project enhanced my abilities to use different textures and also be able to use the texture to express emotions, the projects provided a unique experience and were fun to work with. 

Catch Up

  

 I was able to make my cylinder five and a half inches tall, thus making my grade an 88%.

Based on the rubric given, overall I fall under the Standard 4 and 5 category. I mostly agree with the description of Standard 5, in the skills of handling composition and form I understand very well the elements and principles of how to use them specially in the different projects I do. For the Technical Skills I mostly have a strong quality with most aspects of technique and materials used to applying basic art to the crafts I create. In addition, when it comes to problem solving I am able to resolve problems with the use of my peers, yet many times I also need the help from Mrs. Gleeson yet while having a good sense of direction I do not fully resolve the problem. In all my work I put forth good effort, I want to always try my best to be satisfy with the crafts I do. I like to try even when things get tough, and with the help of Mrs. Gleeson I am able to do so. Also in putting effort comes a level of creativity, I very much try to make unique pieces. I try to make the piece mine, and add something even if it is small that will remind me of something meaningful to me. Overall I fall under the Standard 5 category, yet in the future I look forward to improving my skills.

Wheel Thrower

As making a six inch cylinder with two and a half pounds of clay, I mostly focused on making my cylinder six inch tall. I was able to get my cylinder up to five and a half inches, which made my grade an 88%. What mostly allowed me to make my cylinder taller was to go inside the clay and use my index fingers to raise up clay from the bottom. The process required a lot of patience and concentration, which sometimes I struggled with. In addition, the directions that were most helpful when learning how to use the potter wheel were learning how to center the clay, firstly remembering to make the clay using into a small ball to then slam down on the center of the wheel. Also learning how fast to spin the wheel helped to make the cylinder. All the tips given were useful to become a proficient user of the wheel.

Finished Lanterns

I really enjoyed doing this project, I liked looking at different pictures and learning that those pictures are able to be traced and used to make a lantern. It was a great lesson and opportunity to learn that to make a lantern all it takes is clay, tracing, slipping and scoring, carving, and effort. It was difficult making sure that the slabs were all the same size and that they fitted together, as well as working deligenly to get the project done. I was unable to finish my project on time, however my goal and plan is to come in the mornings the following week to finish the project while staring the new project right on time during class time.  I have one suggestion to improve the project, before tracing the picture for the actual slabs that will be used for the lantern. It would be a great idea to get a piece of flat clay and trace different pictures to see how the picture will possibly look like before deciding on the actual image that will be used for the lantern. Thus the person would have different options of images to choose from, than just looking at the picture on paper or the different books with the images.