For my pot shown below, I was inspired by the Pueblo culture. Traditionally, Pueblo pots are bellied out and their rim and base's are around the same size. I used some of these details and characteristics of the Pueblo culture to help shape my pot. Additionally, most of the Pueblo surface designs are geometric shapes, and the glazes used are generally earthy colors, however I used more contemporary designs through carving and darker colors.
To start off my pot, I extruded coils and layered them on top of each other. Then after using lots of slip, wooden tools , and smoothening techniques, such as the rib, I started to work on bellying out my pot and focusing on its shape. After bellying it out, I was able to use the round coils and work my way in. Once I was done with the initial shape and had a bellied out pot, I noticed that the sides were uneven, so I used a paddle to even out the sides, but that didn't work. Later on, the next day, Mrs. Levenhagen showed me a mould that I could put my pot into, and after some smoothing out and pushing with a rib tool and sponge, the shape was perfect. After dealing with my shape issue, I managed to add on a rim that was the same size as the base of the pot and started to glaze. For my pot's base, I used a white LUG that covered the whole thing, then I inlaid a black LUG into the carvings of my design, and painted on a dark red LUG onto the bottom half of my pot. Once I was done with all of this glazing, I dipped my pot into the Celadon glaze, and into the kiln it went.
One thing that intrigued me most about the Pueblo culture was it's shape and form. I really liked that the Pueblo pots were generally bellied out and that their rim's and base's were generally the same size. I also really liked that their glazes were generally earthy colors that were reused in patterns throughout the pot.
One of the biggest challenges I faced making this pot was keeping its shape. Since my pot was so big, I had some issues with trying to keep my pot's sides evenly shaped. However, I was able to overcome this challenge by using a paddle, and lots of time with a mould. This was extremely helpful because by using a rib tool and sponge to fill in the mould, I was able to make a definite shape that I knew would be even and evenly distributed.
Throughout this semester, I've learnt a ton about ceramics and pottery. I've learnt about the different kinds of glazing, firing, and design techniques. Whether it may be how to use the extruder, how to roll out a slab, or how to high fire a pot, I really enjoyed this class. In the beginning of the year, I thought that making a 3 inch high pinch pot was hard, but during some assignments and after a lot of problem solving I'm proud to say that I've been made to make 12 inch pots. I've also learnt a lot about glazing and that there are so many ways for you to design you pots. You can use LUGs during a pot's greenware stage, or even raku fire a pot during its bisque wear stage. I've also learnt that as long as you stay persistent and determined, you can achieve anything you want to and make something imaginary in you head come to life through pottery.
Below, on the left is my very first pinch pot and to the right is my favorite pot. The pot on the right is my favorite because I had to go through so much to complete my designer cup and I'm so proud that I was able to create a mouth for the cookie monster, that you could store food in and use functionally. I also really like that I was able to bring a part of my childhood (the cookie monster), and turn that into a cup which I could actually use. Lastly, I also think that I used the most techniques and design features on this pot. Whether it was from adding on additional clay pieces, using different LUGs to paint my cup, or to add an additional layer to the inside of my cup, I believe that I've accomplished in this cup.
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