Tray and Cup/Bowl

I didn't get the chance to do a  tray, because my life has become the never ending project of Cecil Gerschwin's face.  But, I did do a cup!  It's still in the glaze kiln, and it's going to be a Christmas project for my dad.
  I guess, that it was just a normal project for me? I've made a lot of quick little cups since we first learned how.  And I tried to texture it by using a wet paintbrush against the clay, and then pressing coffee ground burn-outs into it, but that didn't work out so well, so I just glazed it all over.  And no, I didn't use underglaze.
    I guess I didn't expect much from the project, because it was something that I'd done previously, but I hope that it turns out well.

It did turn out well!
I could have painted it better, but maybe that's just the glaze. Let's just say that's the glaze.

Dwelling

This is what it looks like looking up into the structure.
Where one would hypothetically stick a candle.

I don't know if you can really count this as a successful project. I mean, it came out how I wanted it to come out, but at the same time I never really liked it?  It's fine, I guess.  It was very annoying getting the wire to do what I wanted, and that required a lot of innovation and time and tape.  But, after that, everything else went together pretty smoothy.
   It was just an irritating project.  The building would fall over, and then I didn't bend the wire right so it's sort of constricted in the middle, and the wire kept slipping down and would only stay after I hot glued the paper on. Also, there are slits between the paper and the wire, and I don't know if I like that?  Because there's supposed to be a light source in the middle, and I didn't originally want light leaking out.  I just wanted it to shine through the paper.
    In the future, I guess I would just have a better idea.  Or, at least, plan out my idea better, and make sure it's more architecturally sound.

"Between the Folds" Documentary

I didn't really like the documentary.  It was very annoying, how the narrator was very artistic and poetic?  I understand that origami is an emerging art form, but the transitions seemed very dramatic, and I was more interesting in learning about the more meatier subjects, like seeing the actual art, or maybe interviewing some more people?  I don't know, I guess I'm just being picky.  Also, I think that you'd showed up this video when I was in art 1.
   And I don't really know anybody's name, but the french man who was making the little gnomes and caricatures of people was very interesting.  If I could make anything out of origami, I would make that.  Though, I don't think I have the patience to learn for 32 years.
    Something that has always stuck with me since the last time I saw the video was the exponential growth of the steps that the origami models have experienced. From 10 steps to 200 in a handful of decades is really astounding.  And, I liked the models that the kids were showing off at the festival. I guess I would be one of those people who appreciates technical perfection over art form, because the fact that someone folded all those scales on that dragon will never fail to impress me.
    I also appreciated the dedication that man took to building the hexagonal flower-things, that he could pop out of the paper?  That was some very cool stuff. Though, I don't understand what he was saying when he spoke about 3/4s of the art being the process. I guess I can understand how processes can be really beautiful things, creating something from where there had been nothing before, but isn't art for the observer?  The artist gets enjoyment from the process, of course, and that's why they create the art, but the spectator just sees the finished project, as in all art forms.  I don't know.

Figurative Artist -- Mario Diltiz

The artist I chose was Mario Dilitz, who works in bronze, wood, and also impressions. I was most drawn to his life-sized wood sculptures.  His biology says that he combined traditional sculpture method with technical techniques.  

   The wood he uses, it is noted, is laminated, because traditional wood wouldn't be able to withstand the sculpting.  He lives in Austria and has been putting on shows since 2009.  

    I really like his wood sculptures, because the faces all have an expression, and anatomically they're very well done.  They look like living people that you could touch, and their skin would be warm.  They have bone bumps and places where they're chubbier, and they just look like real humans. 

His website is: 

http://www.mariodilitz.com/en/home/?no_cache=1

Vessel

   To make these pieces I had to learn to throw on the wheel, which was a challenge all in itself.  Originally, I wanted to make longer, skinnier cups, but every time I got the piece to the height and the width I wanted, inevitably something would happen, so I gave up on the specificity of that design for shorter, wider cups.  I almost think that that worked out better, in the long run. Another challenge was the forshortening of the faces.  I don't know if you would call it foreshortening in this term, but I was trying to take the flat fronts of the cups and give them dog/canine faces.  So, I slipped-scored clay noses to the front to try to make it look like the noses were coming out, but I don't know how well I accomplished that.
   All in all, I think it was really successful and I am so happy!  Some of the old glazed I used disn't work out so well … I sort of expected that to happen, though.  So, I'm going over it with clear glaze. But it looks much better than I thought it would, and I'm so happy to see everything that I worked on as a viable product.  I honestly thought they were going to explode in the kiln or somehow break before I ever got to see them finished.
     I hope that they're going to be functional.  I hope I can fix up the glaze enough to be able to drink out of them.  That would be the coolest thing ever.
     All characters are owned by Tom Siddell.

Pinterest Inspiration Board

It's here. 

Molds

I hate molds.

I did not do a full size mold because my vessels were slowly drying and I was in a bit of a panic, so I did one of the ice cube molds.  I don't know if it was my fault or if that was just what the mold looked like, but it came out looking insanely creepy.  And I couldn't fit the clay into all the crevices?  

   There was that same lack of control, I guess.  Maybe if I ever use one of the bigger molds, I'll like the experience better.