March Update

     I have worked on this project for five days so far.  I created a wheel thrown form, which was then cut at the base to place a candle.  I have carved out half of what I plan on doing.

Week 12

    I am currently working on a hand built tea pot.  I will be finished within one or two class periods.

Vases

one of my finished vases

      My cylinder was eight inches tall.  I planned on making my vases look similar in shape, but with altered dimensions.  It was difficult to make them the same basic shape when someone's work fell on them on the shelf. It did, however, work out in the end and the vases looked pretty similar, and they should both have blue.  

Glazing

Finished Sgraffito Pot

     I used black and green underglaze, as well as clear glaze for this piece.  I applied the black underglaze with a bamboo brush and the green glaze with a small paint brush.  I then dunked the piece into clear glaze.  

Sgraffito

    Sgraffito is the scratching away at clay or plaster which creates designs and shapes.

I like this piece

    I did like the sgraffito process even though I was not really sure what design I was going for.  I found it hard to judge how deep I should scratch, which was terrifying because I didn't want to destroy my piece.
    I plan on using sgraffito again, because it allows for a lot of creative freedom.

I miss you too, Mrs. Gleeson!

      Over the summer I attended the Governor's School for German.  It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work. We were only allowed to speak german, which was kind of a bummer, but it wasn't that bad until the last couple of days.
      I didn't really read anything interesting this summer because I barely had time to read the required reading, but at least those books were good.  I have been listening to a lot the the Jackson 5 and the Arctic Monkeys. You should check out the arctic monkeys. They are real good.
     We should make big goblet things this year. That was exciting last year.

Post snow days

    

         Right now I am working on making three large bowls, and I also have to finish glazing my candle holder.  For the bowls project it is important to remember to compress the bottom of the bowl with a sponge, going back and forth three times to the center.  It is also important to bring the clay up and down three times before completely centering the clay and beginning your bowl.  Another thing that is important when making bowls is to make the inside of the bowl match the outside of the bowl.  On my candle holder project I concentrated on contrast by using three different textures.