Ashley Bialko's Coil Cylinder

ASHLEY BIALKO

Coil Cylinder

1. The artwork of my coil cylinder is that it has a close design on one part of it and the other side it has flowers on it so it’s more brightened up. The texture on the dark side is more of a stone feeling compared to the side with the flowers where it has a smooth shiny texture. The parts that are carved out are brighter than the parts that aren’t because I mixed glazes together. On the flower, I used maroon in the carved part and on the part that wasn’t I used pink.  They mixed really well and it made it stand out. On the stems I used a green because that’s the color of stems and I wanted it to look like a flower coming from the pattern. The dark, more complicated side I used black throughout the whole thing, it’s dull compared to the other side by I was completely fine with that because I wanted it to look like that.  The meaning of the piece is that everyone has a good and bad side to them no matter who the person is. I really liked the meaning and I’ve heard it a lot in my life so I decided to do a piece based on it.

2. On the complicated side I used a piece of paper to trace on the design that I picked out. As I was finished, I used a carving tool to carve out what was being done. I painted a black glaze on the whole side, then I took a sponge and scraped most of it off so it had glaze inside the cracks on what I have carved and so it had a stone type of feeling to it. On the brighter side with the flowers, the flowers were carved on and it went from there. the stems of the flowers connected to the complicated side so they wouldn’t be randomly in there and I also used a carving tool for that. Mixing the glazes came out really good and made the flowers stand out because the middle and outside was darker than the middle, it was a outline so it wouldn’t be just plain.

3. I really like my piece that I created because of the meaning and how it turned out. I’m not an artist so when I saw that it came out the way it did, I really admired it and never thought I could make such a piece that I made. It’s not really a balanced composition because the top part of it was uneven and the sides were bumpy a little. When I tried to fix it, it was too late and it was hard and wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I tried so I left it the way it was. It represents good craftsmanship because of the tools, designs, and work that was put into the cylinder. It has a good texture to it and it’s really unique so I thought it was different compared to stuff I’ve seen in the past.

Ashely Adamo's Toad House

Ashley Adamo

1.If I were to describe my artwork in detail, I would first have to tell you what it looks like. It is a circular clay that was molded off of a mold. The shape of it is pretty much an upside down bowl. I made a chimney for it which I made to look like a brick design, the color of it is a fire hydrant red. I made this so it looks more like a house. It has a circular door that I cut out of it, it’s not to tall of a door nor too short. The length of the door is just perfect it’s easy for a normal, outdoor, wild toad to fit inside. I designed a few apple green vines that loop around the house so that it looks more outdoor, kind of like a forest. I attached flowers to the vines to make it more girly for girl toads, these flowers were purple with a blue-green middle with polka dots all over the flower to make it look like seeds so it would be more natural, especially more colorful. Then last but not least I place sign above the toad door which says “Toad house”. I made the color of this sign a caramel wooden brown so that it would look like a wooden sign. My purpose for this piece was to create something that can belong outside and that can benefit to the outdoor creatures such as toads.

2. In detail I’ll explain the materials, tools and techniques I used to created this art piece. First off, to create the house in itself, I had to use the pug mill and the slab roller. I got clay  from the pug mill and then put it in the slab roller so it would flatten out into a pancake. I then got a hard bowl-like shape mold and used it to place my slab of clay on top of so it would harden and create the same shape as the mold. After that I used a sharp edge cutter to cut off extra pieces of the clay that was overlapping off of the mold and I also used this tool to cut out the door. I then used a sponge and water to smooth the house. I used the extra scrap pieces that I had left over to create the chimney, I attached these pieces using the score a slip method, and then used a tool to smooth out the inside of the chimney and the sides of the chimney. I also used the score and slip method when I attached the vines and flowers.

3. Finally,  I do like this art piece I made. I like it because its a good balanced composition. It makes a viewer look at it for all angles because they wonder what’s all around it. I believe it also represents good craftsmanship because It has radiate bright colors and good designs and its very lively.

Alexandra Elmer Ceramics 1

Ali Elmer

Ceramics art final

Toad House:

1. My toad house is used to have a home for the toads when hunting for food at night or during the day. They eat alot of insects each day so its like a form of free pest control. I will put in my garden. The toad house looks like a cartoon mushroom. The top is red with white dots. The door is wide enough for any toad to visit. On the bottom I added grass looking lines to blend into the grass of the garden. I used a dark green and light green to have an effect of a blend of the grass.

2. I used a slab roller to make the circlular bottom of my toad house. For the dome shape of the mushroom I used a mold. For the cirlces of the mushrooms, I carved them in using a knife. For the grassy lines, I used a pointy tool. I did not make the bottom of the mushroom top to look straight. I wanted it to feel a little real, like almost natural.

3. I love this piece. It came out better than I was expecting. I feel like the painting part of it could have been a little less sloppy and more controlled looking but over all it looks like a mushroom. I probably should have added more detail in the steam but I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to see it.

Coil Vase:

1. My coil vase looks like its going in and then came back out but then came in a little. I added handles to the sides. It almost looks like a trophy. For the design, I used a design called damask. The design reminded me of like vintage feel. I just kepted it simple by just having that desing with a white background. On the inside, I used the colors from the damask design, dripping down. I thought it gave it more of an interest than just having one design floating around.

2. I used the coiling method to shape this piece. For the handles, I shaped them and then scored and slipped them on to place. It took me ahwile to center them to make the other one. To carve into the design, I used a pointy tool to give it texture. For the dripping, I used a paint brush and took a big scoop of the paint and rubbed it off the top and watched it drip down.

3. I do like this piece. To me, it looks different from other things I have created. I like the handles on it, it makes it even more different. Without the handles, my piece would look alot boring.

Coil Cylinder:

1. The coil cylinder is 6 inches tall. Maybe a little more. It has a quote that says “take me to the place where my dreams come true”. On the other side there is a dream catcher. I love dream catchers so I wanted this piece to mean something. The meaning is to follow your dreams and your dreams don’t have to be big or they could be. The cylinder would catch my dreams inside and never go away.

2. I carved into the letters of the piece. With the feathers, I carved into the sides making it look like they were popping out of the side. I used a carning knife to carve away and a pointy tool for the ring of the dreamcatcher. A wooden pointy tool was used to dig in for the letter.

3. I also love this piece. The form is better than I expected. I think it represents good craftsmanship because I put a lot of work into it. It took me awhile to decide what design I was going to do. Also, the colors took me awhile to decide what I was going to do. A lot of decisions were made. I wanted to make this piece perfect.

Madison Richardson's Coil Cylinder

Madison Richardson

Coil Cylinder

The symmetric coil cylinder I created has a shiny and smooth texture that has a flat bottom surface but forms equal sides all around. The pattern I used was inspired a Vera Bradley design because all of those designs are made with unity. I painted the pattern with a turquoise blue, coral pink, a frog pond green, and purple and speckled blue grey colors. These colors formed nice contrast with one another and put emphasis on one specific area. Tiny flowers surround the curvy lines that are connected to the leaf pattern on the other side.

The materials used to put this piece together was the pug mill, slab roller, and my hands. To form and smooth this piece, I used a rib and cut the extra clay off with a knife to make it proportional. To begin this cylinder, I made a slab and cut that into a circle for the base, I used the coiling method to place on top of the circle of white clay. After forming this clay together, using a wooden tool I smoothed the coil and base together. To make the cylinder 6 inches I continued to put coils on top of one another and smoothed. Once I finished constructing, I used my fingers and smoothed the interior and exterior. When it gets to the leather hard stage, I used a sponge to smooth out the wrinkles or blemishes I needed so I could start my design. As soon as the piece was bisque fired, I rinsed it and started to carve out my design and then painted with the under glazes to add to the design. Lastly, once the under glazes were fired I used the clear transparent glaze to coat the entire piece and it was fired again. The designs on my piece cooperate with one another and look very collective. The colors had contrast and really popped out. There was movement and rhythm that will lead the viewer’s eye because of the repeating shapes and continuing lines. It had progressive flow and curvy lines all around the cylinder pot.

As a result, I was very pleased with my coil cylinder because it was very balanced and proportional which is a nice visual to look at; it made the piece have a feeling of equilibrium and stability. The piece had lots of variety including, different lines, shapes, colors, textures, values, but one solid form. The best part of this piece is that it has harmony and variety all in one. It was created by achieving and using similar elements around the work giving it an uncomplicated appearance but at the same time there is plenty of different figures around it.

Christian Foster's Coil Cylinder

Christian Foster

ceramics 1

period 5

My cylinder is about six inches tall with a opening of about three inches. The cylinder is proportional to its size and designs on the creation. The cylinder was carved with paisley swirls all around the cylinder and a paisley design creating a circle like the hollow of a tree where a owl can sleep. The cylinder is marked with a center of interest being a owl resting on a heart with a keyhole carved all the way through the heart. The owls design and figure has a sugar skull feeling when you look at it with the flower eyes and swirling design on it. The cylinder was painted by putting black glaze inside the lines of the owl and the writing on the top of the cylinder to fill the lines in and make them bold and easier to spot from a far. After the black glaze dries I put two coats of golden aspen glaze on the inside and outside of the cylinder covering all the carving work including the owl. When the golden aspen glaze dried I put amber glaze all over the cylinder on the outside except for the tree hollow which made it look like the inside of the tree more. The texture of the piece is implied with the continuous carving throughtout the piece with the paisley swirls and the sugar owl in the middle. The purpose for this cylinders design was for my best friends birthday, she loves owls to death and I thought this would be a creative birthday gift which she loved. The top of the cylinder is topped with my name and hers and the date the cylinder was made and the statement “best friends forever”.

My cylinder was constructed using the coil method, rolling coils and attaching them to form a cylinder and then smoothing them all together to create a smooth surface easier to put designs on. I used the banding wheel to make it easier to turn my piece while I was constructing it. I used the rib tool and spunge to smooth the surface of the cylinder untill it was smooth to my liking. To create the designs carved all around the piece I used just the pin tool to carve everything in detail. To creat all the delicate and active lines carved around the cylinder I found a simble design on line and turned it into a continuous, irregular design which helped the piece create that creative tree like form and look. The way the cylinder is contructed makes your mind think about a owl in a tree because the tree design is a irregular design which does not exactly look like a tree but it represents a tree. The tree hollow that was created draws your eyes to the center where most of the delicate work was done. The cylinder gives off a positive and creative feeling about it making it a great piece to look at.

My cylinder shows craftsmanship throught the detailed work that was put into every line and curve, and dot that was added onto the piece. The way the cylinder is contructed makes a persons eyes travel all around the piece by the way the lines flow together and move about the piece like flowing water. The way the colors around the piece flow with the design and enhance the artwork makes your eyes wonder about the piece to see what else their is. The design in the middle with the piece where the owl sits draws your eyes into the hollow of the tree making the piece a wonderful piece of artwork because it has so much detail and precise lines. I love my piece because it was made for a great friend which made me work harder on the artwork and put a lot of detail into it so it was perfect. My piece shows the personallity of my best friend through the delicate lines and curves and the sweet surgar owl that sits on top of a heat with a keyhole. My cylinder is a great piece because of the feeling it gives of and the meaning that was but into the work and enhanced by the continuous detail.

Elisabeth Bernier Slab Toad House

Elisabeth Bernier

Slab Toad House

My piece is a Rubix Cube toad house. It is a cube formed by five 6x6 square slabs. On each side there are nine marked smaller squares. The center square is carved in. My piece has a smooth texture on the outside and a natural texture on the outside. The purpose of my piece is to provide a toad a house. It is a fun, modern piece that will brighten up my mothers garden.

To create my piece I first had to make a 2D and 3D plan of it. Then I used the slab roller to create slabs to cut out five six by six slabs. Then once the slabs were leather hard I cut 45 degree angles out of three of the edges for all five sides. Once the structure was complete and smoothed (using a metal rib) I measured out the smaller square on the five sides and carved out the center smaller square for each side. Once all the refining was done it was put through the kiln. After my piece was fired I Began to paint each smaller square their designated color. Once all the colors were on I put three layers of clear glaze on top so my whole piece would come out shiny. Finally my piece was put through its final firing and was complete.   

I really like my toad house. It came out just how I wanted it. The colors are bright and fun. It also has a balanced composition, (your eye travels around the whole piece). There is a presence of all the colors at least once on each side. It also represents good craftsmanship. All five side are the same thickness and have the same amount of color squares on them. Plus none of the sides have the same arrangement of colors on them, and none of the same color are touching. All in all I really liked my piece.

Courtney Allen's Coil Vase

Courtney Allen

Mrs. Pietri

Ceramics 1

18 June 2014

The coil vase has a broad shoulder and a small neck. The proportion of the two are distinctly different which creates a variety of form. Two base colors were glazed on top of each other to melt and fuse together. This created a more interesting background in comparison to one solid color. Brown glaze was then splatter painted and spotted on both the inside and outside which made the alternating design different wherever the viewer looked, yet consisted in unity because the different spots stayed the same color. The brown glaze was also painted on the lip in order for it to melt off of the sides and finish the overall look. There is a contrast between the blue-green background and brown design to make the piece more appealing. It will be used for decoration.

This piece was created by using the coil technique. I started off with a flat piece of clay which I traced into a circle to use as the base. I rolled coils that were even in thickness and began to attach them on top of one another. To create the shoulder, I placed the coils on the outer edges of each other and continued until I reached my desired width. I made the piece go back in by placing the coils on the inner edges and then directly on top of one another for the lip. Once the form was completed, I smoothed the surface by using a rib to remove excess clay. This eliminated the coils from being visible.

It is not my favorite piece of artwork because I do not personally like the way the brown design came out. Regardless, it is a balanced composition because the brown does repeat throughout the entire vase which brings the whole shape together. It represents good craftsmanship because there is a demonstration of the coil technique and being able to successfully create a shoulder and lip. The glazes were also chosen to create contrast and applied to specifically enhance the form.