Molds

For this mini lesson I practiced molding by using the snowflake molds and creating snowflakes of various sizes and shapes. In the long run I was going to use all of these and put them together to create a candle holder for my vessel piece, however this did not work because no matter how much I slipped and scored the snowflakes would not stay together. I was wrapping it around a cylinder to create the roundness of a candle holder but the clay just kept drying too fast and was not staying together to create the pattern and shape I wanted it to. I really liked the molding process because it created such beautiful snowflakes with such precise details and quickly too! I wish my candle holder idea could have worked out because once it had been finished the light patterns that would have shown through the sides would have been so beautiful. I do not have a picture of my actual piece in progress because it kept cracking and breaking so I threw it away :( however, here is a picture of the mold I used to create the snowflakes:

Origami Installation

This full class involved project was quite an enjoyable one! The process of making the cranes were surprisingly difficult at first (i thought i was a master of origami), but the few cranes I created turned out majestic after many trials and errors! I overcame my failures of wrong folds and edits and created my few single cranes and then moved to create a whole flock when putting the rest of the class' cranes together in the front lobby of the school. I learned a lot about origami as well as myself during this project such as learning patience and how origami is not as easy as it looks so it takes time to learn and succeed. The difference between the process and the finish product is that you start out with a piece of paper and fold it into something beautiful. The process takes time and patience and it has taught me to be patient with my artwork. The finished product gives such satisfaction and relief because of how tedious this process of origami is. The process of this specific finished product starts off with one finished crane to create a whole flock when putting everyone's cranes together. Looking at the finished product gives off such a calming and peaceful vibe, which is beautiful because of how much stress school puts on students and seeing that peaceful flock hanging over the front doors and lobby calms students and reminds them of peace and love and may even make everyone's day better. This tedious product created something beautiful and more than words can explain. I am happy that I was party in this finished product because you never know how a simple crane could change ones day.

Inspired Artist

My inspired artist is John Brown. As you can see in the pictures above, Brown creates insects, butterflies, and birds by welding scrap metal into these figures. Although the assemblages are formed from salvaged materials like nails and bicycle chains, the pieces somehow remain delicate, wings appearing just as thin as a butterfly’s own. After this he detail paints the exact patterns as the butterflies have and try's to make his work as realistic as possible with the scraps he has. The Wales-based sculptor has lived in the rural west of his country for the past eight years, inspired by the fauna-rich valleys that compose the region. You can see more of his metal insects and other welded figures on his facebook and etsy page. His work is very inspiring to me because of how unique his ideas are. He is taking something that is trash and making it into something beautiful and that is something that draws me in because instead of adding more trash away from this beautiful planet and making it into something majestic. I tried to find his history but nothing popped up on google so I assume he is a random artist who was appreciated for these specific pieces. This inspires me to take something as simple as a piece of trash to create it into something beautiful. I love his work!

Cup

Creating these hump mold products was a very cool experience. The process of creating this cup included creating a clay slab and wrapping it around a styrofoam cup, then slipping and scoring to make it stay. After this I wanted to add a little texture because the outside of the cup wasn't very even so I took a patterned roller to roll out lines around the cup. As you can see in the pictures my cup cracked in the kiln :( however before it went in I somewhat liked this product (and it was fun breaking). I did not use the underglaze on my piece which may have made a difference in the fact of it breaking in the kiln. My finished product was somewhat successful but I do think I could have taken more time to insure that it wouldn't break in the kiln. I also could have made the walls thicker so that it would have been able to be somewhat useful in either drinking or eating from it or just storing items in it. Overall this was a learning process, as is every art project, and I always enjoy learning from my mistakes! 

Vessel Project

 

     This was my beautiful vessel piece! This clay candle holder was slightly difficult to make, however I overcame many challenges including smoothing the sides to try and keep my piece even and straight, gently carving out the suns and other details on both sides, and carefully painting the pattern onto my piece after it had been fired. The outcome of my goals were mostly successful however I do believe I could have improved on making the sides completely even to create a straight, even piece. In the future I would spend more time on this specific thing as well as taking more time to make the details more percise and not as sloppy. I felt that my color choice was very wise and calming which goes with the candle holder because candles are warm and calming. I felt that my open sun design was very clean as well as in a good spot on my piece. As i stated before, my piece will function as a candle holder where as the candle will sit in tbe middle of it and will be shown through the open details on the sides of my piece. I am overall proud and feel sucessful about my vessel piece and I am excited to bring it home and try it out!