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.