About my second marking period pieces:
The first piece that I glazed was the butterfly palette. I knew that the inside would have to be white so that I could clearly see the water colors while painting, but i did not want it to be all white so I added the stripes of colors that I also matched on the water cup. I also did some little speckles of purple glaze to make it look a little bit more interesting and fun. Honestly, the glaze on this piece was not super important to me since it was not that visible or filling and I was just excited to use it. I bought water colors with the intention of cutting them up and putting them in the indents on my palette. Those ones were too hard, but donated water colors worked perfectly and I love the bright colors. I was not fully sure the viewers would understand my creation and I wanted to add something special to my display, so I used to palette and made my display look kind of candid and as if I had just finished using it.
The next piece I glazed was my decorative butterfly and I wanted to experiment with glaze. I used some water color and pastel glaze to color in the carved out spots and then I added some glaze to make sure it would show. I think that this makes it more interesting to look at and brings out the different elements of nature that the picture is supposed to show.
I had a few different ideas for my vases and I also needed them to tie in with the nature theme. I have always loved green glazes and I also wanted it to have white. I did not want the green and white to be separated with lines like many other people do and I decided that some funky squiggles would be a unique way to glaze it that somehow might make them see more natural. I do not really know why I associate them with nature, but something about the creeping up of the squiggles reminds me of a forest. The twine and rope was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be. I did not want to have to use glue, but they were days away from being displayed and I tend to rush things when I am under stress.
I was not sure if I wanted my moons to have a simple glaze or try to use bubbles to make them look like they had craters. The frustration and risk of bubble glaze were undesirable and I did not want to glaze them a plain white, so I mixed some lighter gray, yellow, and white glazes to make the faded color. I think that this was a piece that people enjoyed looking at because it is fun and unlike other pieces.
I finally had to glaze my last piece and I was super nervous to do so because I did not want to mess it up, but I also wanted to make the glaze special. I redid the inside of the bowl a few times to try and make different patterns and I am very happy with my final print. I think that the glaze does not take away from the structure, but it also gives it more of an ocean and feminine feel. I got the most feedback on this piece from the open house and I think that I am most proud of this piece. Overall, it was not too difficult to build or glaze, but it required a lot of thought.
The M necklace was inspired by the big metal letter necklaces that a lot of people wear and I really liked being able to include it with my display. Unfortunately, the M broke, but I can easily make another one. I loved wearing this necklace because I felt like I was really expressing myself and it was like I put my own touch on a popular item.
About my first marking period pieces:
At the start of the year I thought I had a clear vision for my theme this year. I shortly decided that I did not want to go through with that theme and since then I’ve been kind of scattered. The first piece i created was a fun little jar to help me get back into the groove of creating with clay and to think about what to do next. The lidded jar has a crescent moon sgraffito design to give it more character. While doing this sgraffito I wondered if I wanted to incorporate that technique with all of my pieces, but I decided against it.
Coincidentally, my next piece also included two moons and a star. *** The full and crescent moon are attached and the full moon has a hole at the top so the little star pot can hang from it. The crescent moon can also hold plants. 
My next piece was a lot of fun to make. I loved being able to make something that was a sculpture, but also functional. The mermaid jewelry holder is very “Maya” in my opinion seeing as how I love jewelry and have it all over my room and I wish to be a mermaid in another life (if possible). The curvy edges of the bowl and plate give it a more sea-like vibe and I cannot wait to have fun glazing this piece! Hopefully it will help me organize my jewelry better.
If I’m being honest, I’ve been pretty selfish about what I’ve made so far. I have given away a lot of my pieces in the past and made them for specific people and this year I have taken a step back to make some things that I know I will cherish and use after making them. Another creature that I greatly admire are butterflies and another form of art that I greatly enjoy is painting. I happily combined these and made a butterfly palette! Making it was a little bit tougher than I expected, especially forming the pockets for the paint. Along with the palette I made a little water cup and I’m excited to put it to use.
I originally planned on making two butterfly palettes, but I used the second butterfly cutout to return to some sgraffito to make a little hanging decoration. Ironically, I made a design with different elements of earth. I love the way that the blue looks without a clear coat on top, but i know the shininess will make it look equally as cool.
These two unfired pieces are something that I decided to make to try and challenge myself. Making the clay portion was not incredibly difficult, but I think that adding the second element of rope/basket will challenge me in the future. I plan on building up on the spherical form and weaving rope or wire in parts of the tall vase. These are the last two things I plan to form until I finish glazing my pieces for the Open House before Christmas.
***Okay, this is a random thought in the middle of this paragraph, but as I was writing I figured out what i want my theme to be. Universal Wonders. I realized I had two space related items so far, a mermaid that relates to the sea, butterflies that relate to nature, and vases that can be glazed earthen tones. As I continue to make more things, they can include elements that relate to fire, wind, and other parts of space or earth.
artroom14 