Mrs. Gollans pottery class Fall 2017
Title: Wild Night
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan
Subject Matter: Zentangle Tile
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Create a zentangle tile with multiple different designs
At the beginning of this assignment I had no idea that I would like the end product as much as I do. I was not sure how I would be with pottery going into the class, after this project I knew I was going to love the class.
The thing that stands out to me the most when I look at the tile is the color. I intentionally used a lot of different and contrasting colors to make the sun rays stand out from the rest of the background. Most of the rays also use very light colors compared to black in the background of the rays and dark blue from the sky. Another element that I think I used well is lines. Directly in the center of the piece I used lines and then all of the rays coming out from there also display lines in different designs. In these designs there are different textures. Since the clouds and stars are popping out it adds texture along with parts getting carved out adding unique textures. In many of the rays there is a certain pattern. The top one has a checker board pattern and many have color patterns. Another principle I think was shown well is variety. I have many different colors, patterns and ideas going on here. If the rays were just normal the piece would not have as much variety.
In this project I learned how to properly score and weld pieces of pottery together. If I had to do anything different the only thing would be to add a little more color to the turquoise ray. I loved this project and I am very happy with the outcome.
The thing that stands out to me the most when I look at the tile is the color. I intentionally used a lot of different and contrasting colors to make the sun rays stand out from the rest of the background. Most of the rays also use very light colors compared to black in the background of the rays and dark blue from the sky. Another element that I think I used well is lines. Directly in the center of the piece I used lines and then all of the rays coming out from there also display lines in different designs. In these designs there are different textures. Since the clouds and stars are popping out it adds texture along with parts getting carved out adding unique textures. In many of the rays there is a certain pattern. The top one has a checker board pattern and many have color patterns. Another principle I think was shown well is variety. I have many different colors, patterns and ideas going on here. If the rays were just normal the piece would not have as much variety.
In this project I learned how to properly score and weld pieces of pottery together. If I had to do anything different the only thing would be to add a little more color to the turquoise ray. I loved this project and I am very happy with the outcome.
Title: Pod Squad
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan
Subject Matter: Slab Mugs
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Create a mug using a slab of clay
When I learned about this project I was truly excited. My friend group has a whale theme that we always go by, so I knew that I wanted to make something for them. I had seen whale cups before and I even had some pinned on Pinterest, to start I made my own design.
My favorite thing about these cups is the color. The two glazes that I used made a very organic color scheme that I think go very well together. Another of my favorites is the shape. I made the mugs large and the tail as the handle is very cute in my opinion. The whale shape is formed around the mugs and the tail pops out like a 3D portion of the mug. For the body I used lines engraved in the clay to separate it from the portion above and then I scratched smaller lines in the under part of the eye to separate the eye ball from the eye lid. Going back to the color scheme I think there is a definite balance between the two colors. They both look like earthy colors and I really like that. The part of the mug that I see the most emphasis in is the handle. With the tail popping right out of the mug that really is the coolest, most interesting part of the whole project.
I loved this project and I think the only thing I would change is adding some more detail into the whale. I made them very cartoon-ish I could have added water at the very bottom or fins on the side. That being said for the time I spent on them I am happy with the outcome. One is not properly welded together at the bottom so it has a crack that water runs right through, but I might be able to fix it. If not I don't mind and I can just make a new one next semester.
My favorite thing about these cups is the color. The two glazes that I used made a very organic color scheme that I think go very well together. Another of my favorites is the shape. I made the mugs large and the tail as the handle is very cute in my opinion. The whale shape is formed around the mugs and the tail pops out like a 3D portion of the mug. For the body I used lines engraved in the clay to separate it from the portion above and then I scratched smaller lines in the under part of the eye to separate the eye ball from the eye lid. Going back to the color scheme I think there is a definite balance between the two colors. They both look like earthy colors and I really like that. The part of the mug that I see the most emphasis in is the handle. With the tail popping right out of the mug that really is the coolest, most interesting part of the whole project.
I loved this project and I think the only thing I would change is adding some more detail into the whale. I made them very cartoon-ish I could have added water at the very bottom or fins on the side. That being said for the time I spent on them I am happy with the outcome. One is not properly welded together at the bottom so it has a crack that water runs right through, but I might be able to fix it. If not I don't mind and I can just make a new one next semester.
Title: Squidy
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan
Subject Matter: Whistle
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Create a working whistle in the shape of an animal
This project was a bigger struggle for me than the previous two, but I took it in stride and made a piece that I really love. I did not know before this that you can make whistles out of clay so that was a really cool thing for me to find out.
During this project I got a really ancient feel. The pieces remind me of old art when they had to make music and whistles from only what the earth provided for them. I think the element that I enjoy the most with the project is the shape. The body is just a hollow ball with the eyes and mouth added into it and all the focus is really on the shape in the tentacles. They are in different forms to give it a feel of movement like even though it has a cartoon type body it is alive. The tentacles are also where all the texture is. I made the body very smooth, but on here I added holes throughout them to give it the feel of the grippy parts on real tentacles. Proportionally the body would be slightly different and the tentacles longer on a real squid or octopus, but I am happy with how the tentacles are smaller than usual in proportion. The last thing that I really like about it is the color. I made it a dramatic purple color to kind of go along with the cartoon feel that I got from it.
If I had to do this project again I would only change the quality of the whistle. My whistle is a deeper sound than I like and I struggled getting the whistle to work as well as it should. I messed around a lot and when I got it a good sound I kept messing it up trying to get it better than before. I think this was the most interest project to see clay turn into something that functions differently than all the other types of projects we have made.
During this project I got a really ancient feel. The pieces remind me of old art when they had to make music and whistles from only what the earth provided for them. I think the element that I enjoy the most with the project is the shape. The body is just a hollow ball with the eyes and mouth added into it and all the focus is really on the shape in the tentacles. They are in different forms to give it a feel of movement like even though it has a cartoon type body it is alive. The tentacles are also where all the texture is. I made the body very smooth, but on here I added holes throughout them to give it the feel of the grippy parts on real tentacles. Proportionally the body would be slightly different and the tentacles longer on a real squid or octopus, but I am happy with how the tentacles are smaller than usual in proportion. The last thing that I really like about it is the color. I made it a dramatic purple color to kind of go along with the cartoon feel that I got from it.
If I had to do this project again I would only change the quality of the whistle. My whistle is a deeper sound than I like and I struggled getting the whistle to work as well as it should. I messed around a lot and when I got it a good sound I kept messing it up trying to get it better than before. I think this was the most interest project to see clay turn into something that functions differently than all the other types of projects we have made.
Title: Ancient Copper
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan`
Subject Matter: Coil Vessel
Medium: Clay, copper wire
Project Goal: Create a vessel out of coils and shapes
At the start of this project I immediately was brought back to the coil project we did in middle school. If I must say so I think I have dramatically improved at my coil skills.
Something I really like about this piece is the shape. I did not intentionally make it larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, but I am glad it turned out that way. It makes it look a little more interesting. Another thing that stands out to me is the pattern. I did coils on the bottom (smoothed over on the outside) then the swirls, coils, circles, and coils again. This adds more character to it rather than just coils all the way up the entire thing. Another unintentional part to the vase is the value in the color. At the top the glaze was not as thick so it did not get as blue, but as it gets farther down the blue color in the glaze becomes more prevalent. The color at the bottom also really stands out with the copper wires that I put in it. The brown, blue, and copper give it an interesting color scheme that I love and the copper adds an extra pop to the piece. Like I said about the shape the top is smaller than the bottom, but I think it is a good proportional change in size. The coils are proportional throughout the whole piece and the swirls are very proportional to the size of the circles near the top.
This project was a pain to finish because I used such small coils, but I ended up liking it a lot. If I could change something I think I would make a more even glaze with the blue color all across it instead of the top being the brown that it is.
Something I really like about this piece is the shape. I did not intentionally make it larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, but I am glad it turned out that way. It makes it look a little more interesting. Another thing that stands out to me is the pattern. I did coils on the bottom (smoothed over on the outside) then the swirls, coils, circles, and coils again. This adds more character to it rather than just coils all the way up the entire thing. Another unintentional part to the vase is the value in the color. At the top the glaze was not as thick so it did not get as blue, but as it gets farther down the blue color in the glaze becomes more prevalent. The color at the bottom also really stands out with the copper wires that I put in it. The brown, blue, and copper give it an interesting color scheme that I love and the copper adds an extra pop to the piece. Like I said about the shape the top is smaller than the bottom, but I think it is a good proportional change in size. The coils are proportional throughout the whole piece and the swirls are very proportional to the size of the circles near the top.
This project was a pain to finish because I used such small coils, but I ended up liking it a lot. If I could change something I think I would make a more even glaze with the blue color all across it instead of the top being the brown that it is.
Title: Toppling Tower
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan`
Subject Matter: Conical Forms
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Create a sculpture out of different shapes
At the start of this project I really did not know what I was planning on doing. I made a couple sketches, but none of them seemed really interesting to me. I finally just started going with the flow and a really cool project emerged from it.
The thing that stands out the most from this project is the shape. All four pieces to it have quite different shapes and they are all interesting. The bottom and top two pieces are smoother shapes while the cube in the middle has a sharper feel to it. I think this also displays line. All of them are made equal on each side and in the circle I used strips which can be equivalent to lines to make that portion of the sculpture really show that element. I plan on painting or glazing each piece of the sculpture a different color to make them all stand out individually in the color element. This piece really shows balance between the shapes. Each one is stacked on top of the other in a way that it looks like it could topple over at any second, but because of the shape they display their balance. Another part that I see is a pattern. The very bottom and third shape from the bottom are larger in comparison to the cube and top piece. It goes large, small, large, small.
Even though I struggled with this project I did think it was fun. This is the largest piece I made. One thing I do wish that would have happened differently is finishing the sphere before Thanksgiving break because before I left it was a perfect sphere and having wet towels on it made it fall apart. Putting it back together it is not the shape I wanted it to be.
The thing that stands out the most from this project is the shape. All four pieces to it have quite different shapes and they are all interesting. The bottom and top two pieces are smoother shapes while the cube in the middle has a sharper feel to it. I think this also displays line. All of them are made equal on each side and in the circle I used strips which can be equivalent to lines to make that portion of the sculpture really show that element. I plan on painting or glazing each piece of the sculpture a different color to make them all stand out individually in the color element. This piece really shows balance between the shapes. Each one is stacked on top of the other in a way that it looks like it could topple over at any second, but because of the shape they display their balance. Another part that I see is a pattern. The very bottom and third shape from the bottom are larger in comparison to the cube and top piece. It goes large, small, large, small.
Even though I struggled with this project I did think it was fun. This is the largest piece I made. One thing I do wish that would have happened differently is finishing the sphere before Thanksgiving break because before I left it was a perfect sphere and having wet towels on it made it fall apart. Putting it back together it is not the shape I wanted it to be.
Title: Sunny Scrafitto
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan`
Subject Matter: Drape Scrifitto
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Create a drape project and use scrafitto to make a design in it
This project took me two tries to get right, but I am glad that I had to redo it because I still kept the other one and this one is also really cool.
The thing that first draws my attention is the center of the plate. In the middle I have a flower/sun pattern that I scraped into it after I finished the drape form. In this I can see a certain type of movement with the droplet shapes coming out of the sun/flower like they are flying off of it. The part that I was very pleased with in this piece is the shape. When I draped it over the bowl I took some parts out while pushing other in to make a wavy appearance instead of a flat or normal plate or bowl. I think the scrafitto that I did in the center is exactly the right size in the space of the whole project. Some of the space is blank while the rest is either the pattern in the center or the wavy outsides. If it was much larger I think it would have looked too big. It is because of this and the use of lines that I get a very delicate feel to it. I made the clay intentionally thinner than the other projects and with the outside line of the plate being soft waves and the center design being curvy petals or rays I really think it added to the overall feel.
This was my fastest project only taking two days to complete the clay portion of it. I would not do anything differently to it. I may paint it and put a clear coat over it instead of using glaze. When I first did the project I did not follow the instructions completely so I am glad I made another and this is how it turned out!
The thing that first draws my attention is the center of the plate. In the middle I have a flower/sun pattern that I scraped into it after I finished the drape form. In this I can see a certain type of movement with the droplet shapes coming out of the sun/flower like they are flying off of it. The part that I was very pleased with in this piece is the shape. When I draped it over the bowl I took some parts out while pushing other in to make a wavy appearance instead of a flat or normal plate or bowl. I think the scrafitto that I did in the center is exactly the right size in the space of the whole project. Some of the space is blank while the rest is either the pattern in the center or the wavy outsides. If it was much larger I think it would have looked too big. It is because of this and the use of lines that I get a very delicate feel to it. I made the clay intentionally thinner than the other projects and with the outside line of the plate being soft waves and the center design being curvy petals or rays I really think it added to the overall feel.
This was my fastest project only taking two days to complete the clay portion of it. I would not do anything differently to it. I may paint it and put a clear coat over it instead of using glaze. When I first did the project I did not follow the instructions completely so I am glad I made another and this is how it turned out!
Title: Wheel Spun Bowls
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan`
Subject Matter: Potters wheel project
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Create a project using the potters wheel
The first time I was on the wheels I had a very hard time centering the clay. It took a couple days to really get the hang out it, but once I did I feel like this was the best part of the class. Seeing how you can change the shape of the clay so easily and spread it out or push it back together is really interesting to me. One problem I did have with the wheel is the little rocks cutting into my palm when I tried to center it. I would like to learn how to make larger pieces and maybe even get a wheel myself when I have room for it one day!
Title: Lovely Mountains
Course: Pottery
Artist: Coral Perfetto
Teacher: Mrs. Gollan`
Subject Matter: personal project
Medium: Clay
Project Goal: Make a cute bowl for Kurt
This is the project that I messed up for my Drape Scrifitto project and I am glad that I did. I made a small bowl by shaping it over a cup. It wasn't fired yet, but I am hoping once it is it will look like how I imagine it.
Around the whole bowl I used lines to create the look of mountains and trees. Above the mountains I added a pattern of dots in the sky to represent the stars. In the trees I scratched small lines to show the texture of the needles. I also made the trees black to really emphasize them being in front of the mountains and really show that it is night time. The colors that I used on it all work well together because they are all very dark shades. The sky should look dark blue, the mountains a dark purple and trees black. I did not have any troubles with the project and I think that once it is fired it will look really neat.
Around the whole bowl I used lines to create the look of mountains and trees. Above the mountains I added a pattern of dots in the sky to represent the stars. In the trees I scratched small lines to show the texture of the needles. I also made the trees black to really emphasize them being in front of the mountains and really show that it is night time. The colors that I used on it all work well together because they are all very dark shades. The sky should look dark blue, the mountains a dark purple and trees black. I did not have any troubles with the project and I think that once it is fired it will look really neat.