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Mask/Wall Hanging
For this project, I decided to make a Venetian-inspired mask. It was my first time working with terracotta which I found much more forgiving than the grey clay (when it was plastic). I originally added leaves, but they fell off as it dried so I decided to scrap them since the whole thing was already very delicate. On that topic - this piece broke multiple times. I think it was due to shrinkage, and since it was on a mold it created areas where it stretched too far. I got it all back together, and I think it almost fits the ancient Venetian theme better with the visible fixes. I also tried an underglaze wash on this one instead of firing it for a matte finish! I went kind of yellow to fit the golden Venetian style. I'm very proud of the expressiveness in this one!
Useful Piece + Current Artist Inspired
I was inspired by this artist on Pinterest (by @gulumovart; click on the image to see link) to create a useful dish decorated in this manner. What intrigued me was that the form was not perfect, and the dish was used as a canvas. I wanted to practice with imperfection to stray away from the feeling that everything I make must be symmetrical, and I wanted to practice making underglaze look like actual paint with a lot of shades and highlights. I also am very glad I used the underglaze pencil to accentuate lines, it was easier than trying to paint on black underglaze. I am so proud of this dish.
Bust
This bust kind of humbled me. I got the shoulders and neck done very quickly, and I was super proud of them (I even got some sinew in the neck). However, the facial features really stumped me, especially the eyes. It was really hard to create realistic eye folds because the features were so small, and at one point I even considered putting an eyepatch over one eye... but I eventually got it. I'm very proud of the nose. I used many references on Pinterest of ceramic faces and I think they were super instrumental in this piece turning out well. In general, I think this piece turned out amazing. I don't really like the glaze I used, but I'm very proud of the construction.
Choice Project - Pepper Dish
For my choice project, I made a small dish shaped like a pepper. It is a companion to my earlier apple dish. Also, since my final project is going to be a lettuce platter, I will be making a few vegetable themed items to have on the side, and this is one! I also used a Pinterest reference for this one (link?) I was stumped on what to do and decided to recreate something I liked online, and this was it. I'm super proud of the structure; I think the seeds look amazingly accurate (I used a tool to stipple which isn't something I normally do!) I also think it looks organic but uniform, a direction I want to move in for many of my pieces. However, the clear glaze got very cloudy which upset me :( I still like the piece though!
Alebrije
This project went through multiple stages. At first, I made a salmon as my spirit animal. However, it was flat and I was not satisfied. I decided to redo the project by making a hare. I found an actual photo of a real, wooden hare alebrije and it was very inspiring. I also thought the ears would be a good challenge; I wanted to make them almost comically large, but I didn't want to unbalance the piece. This piece broke a lot, but all in all I think it turned out well. The colors are meant to represent a sunset or a sunrise, and I tried to use unique layering. The hare represents luck and tenacity, and I made it small so it could (in theory) be carried as a token of luck in a bag or something like that.
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