Almost done!

As the greenware stage for my family project is coming to a close, I am now left with a few uncertainties and questions. I cut my vase like form into five pieces in a sort of unsemetrical pattern. This worked out well, excpet the slurry created from the vinager and wetting of each piece caused the cracks I was trying to create to fill in. I dug them out with a needle tool to make them a bit more visible, and now I am just hoping that they will become more prominent once it is fired. This is my main uncertainty. The question I have now is what glaze/firing tecnique should I use in order to make the cracks convey the message I want. The picture above is a bowl created by Jeff Campana, the artist whose idea I am trying to emulate. This project was fun to create because it allowed me to portray a message about family while also finally being able to use clay, which is my preferred material. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Stomach Acheee

I am making some good progress on my family related piece. I have decided to cut it into separate parts and then score them back together. I think this will work out well as the cracks will represent the message and theme that I want. I am really looking forward to doing this, however I have been out of commision with a stomach condition and probably wont be at school for the rest of the week. This has caused me to have concern about meeting the deadline, but at this point I can only do the best I can.

Decent Progress!

 Ive just finished attaching most of my slabs together, and should have the form completed by next class. I am still unsure of what to do for the top as well as how to implement my cracking idea to represent the message I am sending about my family. The form will look somewhat like the picture above. I am still debating whether to add the top slab or not. My original plan was to finish the form first, then see what to do next. However, the form almost complete and I am still unsure what do to. Ahh project stress!

Family Project

I have been rather unsure on what I am going to do for my family project. My original idea was to make a vase-like form out of slabs and then cut it into 5 different pieces. These pieces would then be stacked on top of each other and form a unit. This would represent how my divided family can still come together to form something decent. However, I realize that the firing process for this multiple-pieced structure would be rather difficult, and it would be tough for all the the pieces to fit together afterwards. I also would want to raku or cone 10 fire it, making that process difficult as well. Now, I have decided to go ahead with making my vase form with the plan to give it a cracking texture. I will also cut a few major cracks into it. While the piece in this state will be extremely fragile during the greenware stage, I feel that it will be fine once it is bisque fired. The picture above is an example of the type of form that I want to create, but is not close to exact and has nothing further to do with my project. In other words, much of this project is still in progress. As new ideas come to me, they will be incorperated into my project. I expect the final product to turn out much different than my plans now, and it is that idea that excites me.