Teapot-
Sorry about the glare, it was in a display case. This was my first project of the year, and I love way it came out (design and glaze) and I was very happy to have such a good start to the year. The creamer isn't functional but the rest is, but I probably won't use it. The platter for the sugar and creamer isn't glazed, so it didn't get in the picture. This was an all white stoneware, all hand-building piece, and the handle was made with a coil extruder.
Pagoda (architecture focus)-
I was especially excited for this project's design. Each piece you see above is a lidded jar, but they vary from large to small, and the smallest has a pointed lid instead of on with a flat top. The stack on top of each other to make a pagoda like structure. These forms were thrown and trimmed on the wheel, no hand-building involved, and consists of all white stoneware. I decided to go with no designs, just a simple surface, but I could definitely be persuaded otherwise with the right idea. Overall the concept wasn't that complex, but I had to carefully measure each piece to make sure they would fit together nicely. I am using black (black Ice by Amacco) and red (oxblood by Amacco) to glaze it.
Parabolic motion concentration (Spheres)-
This project is part of my own concentration, parabolic motion (incorporating parbola like elements to create movement). It is a two part project, the spheres made from the thicker coils are a decorative set of four (one is in the kiln) that will be glazed different colors and used as decoration. The spheres made of thinner coils are part of a degression (opposite of a progression), each one being more broken than the last. I have my ideas on its meaning and significance, but I want the viewer to take away what they get out of the piece, and for that reason will not tell you what I think of it. I really like the negative space, and shape used in these pieces. I had to come up with a way to get the coils to dry in the spherical position, so I wrapped the wet coils around a balloon and set it in a bowl to dry, but you have to pop the balloon while the coils are leather-hard or they shrink and crack (an issue I ran into). Obviously this is a completely hand-built project. I like the two components this project has, and am excited to see how it turns out.
Parabolic motion (teapot)-
So I had this project completely finished, but I broke it while it was bone-dry :( . So the flying saucer looking thing is the base and the up-side-down bowl is the lid. The handle is what I'm holding up for you to see (it's not yet attached). The spout will be a traditional looking semi-long wheel thrown piece that will go perpendicular to the handle instead of the traditional, parallel, relationship. Then there will be a little loop of coil attached to the other side to pull the teapot back by in order to pour it. I really like the handle, but it's a little tricky getting it on there. You have to dry it out a little, then shape it, and dry it, and shape it, then you get to VERY CAREFULLY attach it to the teapot. The base, lid, and spout are all thrown, so there is a nice mixture of hand-building and throwing here, for anyone who like to do both. I really like to form, and hope I don't break this one (I may cry).
