My piece is a very small boy made for very small snacks. He has an even smaller leaf bowl for even smaller sauces or other very small snacks. The lifted rim around his belly makes sure you do not spill your small snacks everywhere.
I really really enjoy Studio Ghibli and Totoro is the perfect shape to be a plate. I promised God himself I’d only create pure and good pieces out of clay, so here is my one good clay piece. A good, plate shaped boy from a nice Japanese animated film franchise. I slab rolled a large slab of clay to cut out the shape of the body and ears. I score/slipped the ears onto the body, carved an indention into the stomach for the actual plate/tray area, and etched in the details of whiskers and eyes. The leaf was an oval-esque slab that I gently cupped and formed with my bare hands. Both pieces were bisque-fired, glazed, then glaze-fired.
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In paper mache you start with a base shape using any materials. You can then cover it with tinfoil (optional), before moving onto using newspaper. You cut the newspaper into strips and dip it into a mixture of either flour and water or glue and water. You’ll need multiple layers to keep the piece stable. You can then add a layer of paper towels to smooth out the surface. Add paint and exterior details over the paper towel layer.
My piece was successful in being the worst and most terrifying thing I’ve ever created with my own two hands. I wasted three weeks on that monster Ms. Sudkamp. Three weeks and so much of your flour and hot glue. The feathers and hair and layer application were so good but at what cost. The shape and base materials made it really difficult to cover with the paper mache. It was also really top heavy (because of its hideous, unsettling, terrible human head) which made it difficult to balance and stand up. (Which means he hangs like a dark bat-like specter from the flag if he falls forward.) My subject was a chameleon. I tried to design it so that a new piece started where the skin folded to show movement. The sketch really looked like a good, screaming chameleon, I promise.
It was really difficult to think about my art in separate pieces instead of one full work. It made it really hard to break it up in a way that made sense. Which means that the way I cut up the piece made no sense. I'm very bad at mosaic. I think the colors and design were successful but next time I’d be more careful about how and where I’m cutting my piece into tiles. Ms. Purtee wants me to become a mosaic artist now, which means I might be made to do this again. Pit fired ceramics are made, left to dry, bisque fired, then wrapped in a sagger. A sagger holds any material close to the piece, so that the material will burn on in the pit fire. When pieces are removed from the pit fire, they’re brushed off and covered in a sealer or wax. I think the shape and style of my piece was very successful. I’m really happy with how the elephant looks. I think next time I’d try to get more colors burned onto it and explore what materials can be used. I burned on salt, newspaper, and coffee grounds to my piece which produced lots of blacks, browns, and greys. |
Olivia "Vi" Martin Archives
June 2018
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