Even though I have only been alive for seventeen out of the billions of years the world has been around, it is apparent to me that there are good and bad things that go on all over. Over the course of many years, light and dark has been used to represent those good and bad events. My projects show my interest for the darker of those events. My work primarily involves a balance of light and dark in the glaze, shape, and texture.
I have a diverse collection of projects. I have made numerous bowls, a cup, a pitcher, a few vases, a teapot, and two lidded projects. The progression of my projects can easily be seen when compared together. One of my lidded projects is round and has a knob lid. It is dipped half in cobalt blue and the other half, in clear. On the clear half, the project was dipped in cobalt blue, leaving a blue circle on the side. My second lidded project has two bumps, where the project becomes increasingly smaller in width. The lid is a cap lid, which creates a third bump on the project. The whole project is glazed in mystery. When the light hits the project, it is reflected off the bumps. The two projects are similar, both being lidded projects and both conveying my theme of light and dark, however, they show that theme differently. The first lidded project shows the theme very obviously, being that the project is glazed in a light color and a dark color. The second project shows the theme with a more sophisticated view of art. The light is represented through the light that is reflected off the project, rather than simply being painted on.
All of my projects were made on the wheel. Next, a foot ring is carved into the project. Some of my projects needed hand made parts, like the cup, pitcher, teapot, and one of the bowls. After finishing the throwing/footing process and adding any extra pieces, my projects are bisqued. Once they are out of the bisque, I glaze them to show off elements of the project itself, and my theme. Glazing can be done multiple ways. The project can be dipped in a glaze or the glaze can be painted on. Also, a stain can be used to paint a picture on the projects like watercolors. After I am finished glazing, the project is put in the glaze kiln. Finally, the project is complete and shiny (unless, of course, a matte glaze is used). If put on too thick, sometimes the glaze will "crawl," meaning that it spreads out. Also, the glaze could run in the heat of the kiln and pool at the bottom of the project, sticking it to the kiln. If that happens, it must be chipped off the shelf, and then ground off, which leaves an unattractive surface. Sometimes the glaze runs in un-expecting ways. For example, on my pitcher, I had glazed the lip in shadow green and the glaze ran about halfway down the project, looking like it had been poured along the sides. It ended up making my pitcher look better by showing its purpose with the glaze.
My projects are important to my theme because they show that there are two sides to everything. In literature, art, and many cultures, light and dark are often used to represent good and bad. Light has a connotation of good things to people, for example, the sun, whereas, dark is thought of as having bad connotations. My projects, how they are glazed, their shape, and even their texture, show my perception and what I feel about the light and the dark. The majority of my projects show the darker color overpowering the lighter one. While I often look for the good or the light in many aspects of my life, my projects express my curiosity for the darker parts of life. The worst thing I’ve done in my life is probably drive eighty miles per hour instead of the legal seventy on the freeway. For me, my ceramics projects are a way of showing the darkness in life that I do not personally experience.
Now that I am in advanced ceramics, I can focus less on making a simple form and more on what my projects mean to me and how it conveys my theme. I’ve noticed a relationship between good and bad in my life personally, as well as in the world around me. I have recently taken more of a notice to the darker parts of life and that is what is expressed through my ceramics.
I have a diverse collection of projects. I have made numerous bowls, a cup, a pitcher, a few vases, a teapot, and two lidded projects. The progression of my projects can easily be seen when compared together. One of my lidded projects is round and has a knob lid. It is dipped half in cobalt blue and the other half, in clear. On the clear half, the project was dipped in cobalt blue, leaving a blue circle on the side. My second lidded project has two bumps, where the project becomes increasingly smaller in width. The lid is a cap lid, which creates a third bump on the project. The whole project is glazed in mystery. When the light hits the project, it is reflected off the bumps. The two projects are similar, both being lidded projects and both conveying my theme of light and dark, however, they show that theme differently. The first lidded project shows the theme very obviously, being that the project is glazed in a light color and a dark color. The second project shows the theme with a more sophisticated view of art. The light is represented through the light that is reflected off the project, rather than simply being painted on.
All of my projects were made on the wheel. Next, a foot ring is carved into the project. Some of my projects needed hand made parts, like the cup, pitcher, teapot, and one of the bowls. After finishing the throwing/footing process and adding any extra pieces, my projects are bisqued. Once they are out of the bisque, I glaze them to show off elements of the project itself, and my theme. Glazing can be done multiple ways. The project can be dipped in a glaze or the glaze can be painted on. Also, a stain can be used to paint a picture on the projects like watercolors. After I am finished glazing, the project is put in the glaze kiln. Finally, the project is complete and shiny (unless, of course, a matte glaze is used). If put on too thick, sometimes the glaze will "crawl," meaning that it spreads out. Also, the glaze could run in the heat of the kiln and pool at the bottom of the project, sticking it to the kiln. If that happens, it must be chipped off the shelf, and then ground off, which leaves an unattractive surface. Sometimes the glaze runs in un-expecting ways. For example, on my pitcher, I had glazed the lip in shadow green and the glaze ran about halfway down the project, looking like it had been poured along the sides. It ended up making my pitcher look better by showing its purpose with the glaze.
My projects are important to my theme because they show that there are two sides to everything. In literature, art, and many cultures, light and dark are often used to represent good and bad. Light has a connotation of good things to people, for example, the sun, whereas, dark is thought of as having bad connotations. My projects, how they are glazed, their shape, and even their texture, show my perception and what I feel about the light and the dark. The majority of my projects show the darker color overpowering the lighter one. While I often look for the good or the light in many aspects of my life, my projects express my curiosity for the darker parts of life. The worst thing I’ve done in my life is probably drive eighty miles per hour instead of the legal seventy on the freeway. For me, my ceramics projects are a way of showing the darkness in life that I do not personally experience.
Now that I am in advanced ceramics, I can focus less on making a simple form and more on what my projects mean to me and how it conveys my theme. I’ve noticed a relationship between good and bad in my life personally, as well as in the world around me. I have recently taken more of a notice to the darker parts of life and that is what is expressed through my ceramics.
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