My theme for my work this semester is transformation. I chose this theme because it showcases the progression of my work over the semester and my overall growth as a ceramacist and artist over my past 3 years in ceramics. Since the beginning of the year my work has improved substancially because I have learned new throwing and glazing techniques and also because I have had a lot more practice. I got a to spend a lot more time on the wheel this semester so I have a very wide array of projects in my portfolio; vases, lidded projects, plates, coffee mugs, practically anything you can make on a pottery wheel.
My work at the beginning of the year was mainly smaller projects like plates and bowls and mugs but as the year has gone on I have become more comfortable using more clay and trying more advanced techniques on the wheel. I started making more complex things on the wheel towards the middle of the semester like my teapot and lidded projects. I have also gotten better at glazing because I have learned how to mix glazes to get different colors as well as which glazes go together best. My personal favorites are itallian straw with tomator red painted on top (which creates an orange) and shadow green over matte tuquoise (the shadow green still shows the opaque color of the turquiose but adds some shine).
One of my best projects to date is my teapot. I took a really long time to make it but it turned out really well. I made each part of the project on a separate day, bagged them each after I made them and once they were all finished put them together as one project. I threw the lid, spout, and body of the teapot on the wheel and pulled my handles for both the lid and the teapot. It was generally easy to put everything together, just time consuming with all the slipping and scoring. After my project was bisqued I glazed it. I painted the entire piece with italian straw (yellow) and then went over the lid with tomato red (the italian straw and tomato red mixed created an orange color) and then painted the lip of the spout and the indent on the handle with tomato red to tie the two pieces together. I think I learned a lot from this project because I spent so much time making sure and paid close attention to detail.
I chose my theme because it is easy to understand. You see my theme and look at my work and you can automatically understand that my theme is transformation because I want my viewers to notice the progression of my work throughout the semester. My work has transformed from simple to complex pieces because not only have I started spending more time on each piece I make, but I am also adding more details to them both on the wheel and in the glaze room. As the year goes on I have also gotten more comfortable with throwing larger pieces on the wheel so I have more large pieces in my portfolio now than I did at the beginning of the year.
My portfolio displays the transformation of my artwork not only over the past semester, but also since I began taking ceramics two years ago. I have become so much more skilled over the past two and a half years of taking the class and I have my work to show it. I have gained skills and knowledge that has made me a better artist and ceramicist which allow me to create complex and beautiful pieces on the wheel that I would have never expected to be able to create when I started taking the class.
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