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Pinch and coil and pinch pots are techniques completely new to me so this has been a learning curve. Although I dont believe this will ever become my preferred method of pottery, I can appreciate it as a crucial starting point for a beginner. Working with the very soft buff stoneware clay I had to learn how to make it behave how I want it to. My first noticeable difficulty was an inability to control the size of my eggs. Even when I started with a modestly sized pinch pot as foundation of my egg - the soft clay would warp and widen. It wasnt until my forth egg that I decided on trying out a new idea and letting my foundation dry out ever so slightly over night before continuing to layer coils on top. This has helped significantly and I feel I have gained much more control over over the size of my piece. This sort of control is very necessary in getting the right egg form and for the dreaded twisted egg I need a solid base.

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I finished my jomon pot and am very pleased with it. As you can see I decided to use score and slip on all the coils through out the pot. This was a time consuming process but I think it paid off in the end as I ended up with a very sturdy piece. Using various carving and shaping tools I created patterns and textures on my pot. I felt my pot was looking slightly unfinished so using a wooden dowel I textured the rim. This really pulled the piece together so I'm very glad I made that call. Hopefully we will be firing this pot in the next week or so.

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I've been experimenting with more sculptural pieces using the pinch and coil method. Again- there is a lot of trial and error but Im excited for this plant pot im making. Trying to capture some very emotive faces is a bit difficult. I ended up purchasing some clay shaping silicon tools and they have been my saving grace. I want the bottom half of the pot to be indications of torsos - perhaps positions that leave the perspective of the forms unclear. That is whether they are front facing or side facing. Whether I will present this for critiquing or not... I am unsure.

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Think I have finally discovered my groove. Have now finished all five eggs for this module and have noticed a great improvement in each one consecutively. Even in the dreaded twisted egg. I feel a lot more confident in pinch and coil as a technique now and would even consider using it for my sculptures in the future. I decided to score each coil and wetten it with a paintbrush. This made the bond between each coil much stronger and although time consuming - made for an easier building process. I have now started on my jomon pot. I believe it was wise to not start this project before finishing my eggs as this prepared me well for the challenge.

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I made a man. On first attempt I tried to make him with coils but on this smaller scale it was very difficult and I wasnt getting the results I wanted. I instead made him solid and hollowed him out after I got the right form. Overall Im very pleased with him. I made his face hollow and like a mask and decided to create a cavern in his back revealing ribcage with rat standing on top. Almost like this form is being controlled by the rat. You can actually see the rat through the mouth hole in his face. It was really exhausting making such tiny details such as the rat but I think it paid off and turned into a very effective, detailed piece. I may wish to make several of these forms in this style.

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We have now started throwing on the wheel. I have found this to be exactly as difficult as I expected it to be. Centering for me is by far the most difficult part of the process but I have improved over the last week. I found following verbal instructions and diagrams to not be completely effective in helping me get a grip on the technique. Instead I prefer to throw lumps and lumps of clay to learn how to manipulate its form. Throwing doesnt seem to be the sort of thing you can read about and execute perfectly. I was very pleased with these two pots I threw - especially with my cylinder which is a very challenging shape.

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My cylinder throwing abilities are improving. As you can tell from the cross-section shot, the walls and base of the cylinder are pretty nice and even. Moving forward I will focus on making my cylinders wider and slimmer so that I can make a cup.

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Ive managed to throw two bowls that I'm very happy with and have turned them both on the wheel. Turning is quite difficult in the way that its hard to stop once you start. Another bowl I turned accidentally came out paper thin. I poured the slip on the inside of the bowls and after bisqueing I will glaze with commerical clear.  I think at the moment I'm experiencing a bit of anxiety with glazing but I think I just need to let loose a bit and not be afraid to experiment.  I think I just make pieces that I spend a lot of time and energy on and become afraid of screwing them up.

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Overcame my fear of glazing today. Decided on just dipping my toes in (figuratively) and just going with a commercial white glaze. This is because I was scared of doing something dreadful to these pots I agonized over for hours. I Might not even like the white on this brick clay... Oh God. I Suppose that is the nature of pottery though - heartbreak and occasionally triumph. We will see how they turn out. I used liquid latex on the base of the pot and plugged the little hole at the bottom (they are plant pots). In the future I may just use wax as a resist because the latex peeled in such a way that the lines tended to chip. It was difficult to get a clean line. I just dipped these straight in the bucket with a pair of tongs. I didnt want to mess around with the possibility of uneven brush strokes considering I chose a uniform glaze. I have been thinking of (eventually) trying out the spray gun as an application method for glazing. I believe there is an assignment coming up for my glaze course that requires me to research and experiment with a new glazing technique so spray gun may be my chosen method.

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Commercial white was a big mistake. Its far too glossy and one coat was definitely not opaque enough. At the critique today in class we discussed that usually a high shine finish on pottery isnt best for detailed, sculpted pieces such as these. In the future I will keep the gloss down. Also I think I just need to start experimenting A LOT more with glaze and overcome this fear of mine of messing up my pieces... because it seems like it's gonna happen whether you like it or not really

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We loaded our first bisque firing last week. Naturally I was very nervous about cracking and exploding pottery but all my pots came out in one piece! Im  very pleased with the overall quality and weight of my plant pots and am now starting to consider how I will colour and glaze them.

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We were all allocated different molds to try out - I was given "hump mold". I used a small thrifted bowl to create the shape of the hump. Once the plaster has completely dried out I'll try making a bowl with it.

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First discovered Katie's work through the book Urban Potters: makers in the city by Katie Treggiden. I enjoyed the playfulness in her functional sculptures such as this light shade. It also touches on feminist themes which I always appreciate. What drew me to her pieces was that they did not appear to be agonized over in meticulous detail but they are still so visually delightful - a quality I would love to strive towards.

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Using some arms I borrowed from my kewpie baby doll I created a two-piece plaster mold. This was a bit more fiddley than the hump mold as I had work out a seam line/ cross section and then surround it with clay. That was honestly the hardest part of the whole process because I was working on such tiny details such as the fingers. I thought it would fun to attached these arms onto a plant pot or vessel. Once it dries we shall see how well I executed the mold. Fingers crossed.

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Ive been giving a lot of thought recently about how I want to evolve as a ceramic artists. Which took some time to firstly decide what I do and dont like in other artists work. For instance, I decided I wasnt too fussed on glossy glazes, ornamental designs etc. But I was drawn to more experimental, rugged pieces. This artist in particular was of interest to me as I'd like to experiement with ceramic pencil and pointilism. These of course I imagine, would need to be handbuilt pieces and wouldnt be the bulk of my work as a potter. As throwing and simple glazing is more efficient financially in my opinion. But this style excited me so I think that's good news and I'll continue to explore styles such as these.

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I've still been practicing my throwing in preparation for the second throwing module this semester. I feel like I have made a lot of progress. I tried out a new technique using slip (just off the wheel!) to give it that interesting texture. I've added the link for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJaD_lAi08
It was a lot of fun trying this technique out - I think I'll play around with it more. Not 100% sold on this form though.

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This was a lot more time consuming than I had anticipated as I had failed to define a good seam line down the middle of the hand. The arms came out okay in the end but much trimming and touching up with required! In the future I will be more meticulous with the beginning on this process and get the plaster molds right.

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Rita Salt is primarily a tattoo artist but lately she's been posting some of her ceramic work on her Instagram. They totally reflect the childish delight that her tattoos possess. I particularly enjoy her use of ceramic pencil which is something I am considering playing with in my own work. Similar to Katie Stout's work - Rita's is fun and fantastic to look at.

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I discovered this style of pottery in the book "New Wave Clay" by Tom Morris. The work above is done by Dylan Bowen, great-grandson of Bernard Leach. Something is very nostalgic about this style of work to me - reminds of Martin Poppelwell's style which I was surrounded with growing up. The colours of this slipware are rich and timeless.

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I have started to play around and explore some vessel forms for my self-intiated module. I am planning on etching designs from my sketch book onto ten or so vessel forms. This will be the first stage of my project. I really like the size and shape of the cup on the left. Recreating the form several times will be a challenge but I'm excited about it.

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Ive been enjoying Yuko Nishikawa's forms. I like the irregularity in pairings.

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I have continued to explore the cup shape I want for my self-intiated project - am now starting to get a better idea of the sort of form I'm gonna go with as well as improving my throwing abilities. Today I also managed to throw a closed form which was a fun challenge!

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Ive done three different cups on each I will try a different method of creating my designs : Etching and using oxides, slip trailing, and ceramic pencil.

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I used lead pencil to sketch one of my designs onto a cup, then with a fine needle tool I etched through to the clay body underneath the cream slip. Using less pressure for more subtle areas of the sketch and more pressure for the outline. Once fired I will see how I like the result and potentially use an oxide stain to eccentuate the markings. Tranferring my sketch onto the cup was a bit challenging. I am going to look into methods of transfering directly from a sketch.

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Been playing around with adding contours to my thrown forms.

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I had the idea last night to throw a closed form and attach it to another thrown vessel. Then today I expanded on that and thought it would be interesting to use a closed form as a handle. This of course would be quite challenging for my current skill level but think it would be a pretty interesting idea to try out

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This was really challenging as it involved a lot of intuition as well as precise measurement but it was very satisfying to pull off!

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I really liked the idea of contrasting a super sophisticated, traditional form with something a bit silly and immature such as these kewpie doll arms that I made a mold of and attached to my thrown pot.

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I had the idea to try applying an oxide stain with a small detail brush and then, using a water spray bottle, intentionally cause the marks to bleed. I especially enjoy the effect on my "dog" on the left. The bleeding sort of reminds me of fur and give the form some movement. The effect reminds me with of a naked raku firing in a way. These are going in for a second bisque before I glaze to prevent any unwanted bleeding.

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I have sourced two glazes from online that I quite enjoy - a honey amber glaze and a white liner glaze. Preferably I would have liked my white liner glaze to be brighter but perhaps it has something to do with the clay body underneath.

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I really love these vessels by Lauren Herzak-Bauman. It gave me a great idea for a design for my self-intiated project. Instead I will do splotches and use my technique of spraying oxides with water to cause intentional bleeding.

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Tried out a glazy white liner glaze on my swirly cup with wax resist.

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Absolutely loving this glaze with titanium oxide on top. Planning on using it for my vase.

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For my pecha kucha presentation I've been focusing on agateware/clay colouring. This is a tumbler I marbled with red iron oxide wedged clay. Fired to cone 10 with a clear high fire glaze from glazy. Very pleased.

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Think I have worked out that in terms of application on bisqueware - ceramic pencil may be my best bet. Im gonna keep these ones simple with clear glaze on top and fired to cone 10.