Essay Draft
Why work with clay? What tools do you use? How do you use them? What do you make? Excellent questions, all of them, and ones that I will give my answers for.
Why? Because working wiht clay is fun and a bit of a challenge, something I can make from scratch and be proud of - no matte what - because I made it, made the decisions, made that cool-looking drip of glaze that looks like icing. To explore and experiment, to make a mistake and still get something out of it - even if it's only a footing too! - is incredible fun. To try new things, to take a chance and be surprised at the final product; it's all a part. Take glazing: it is as much intuition and luck as knowing the colors and chemical interactions, and mixing and matching colors and patterns is a lesson in faith and patience. Trying different techniques and textures - painting versus dipping, drips versus splatters - can be a leap of faith, and that's one of the reasons why I never throw something out, even if it's broken; they're great test pieces for glazing! And more often than not, while perhaps not exactly "beautiful", the result is always still pretty cool, still unique. And if you really don't like the piece - greenware, pinkware, "bad" glaze-job, whatever it is - don't throw it in the trash until you KNOW you'll never like it, and can't find someone who will. After all: One man's trash is another man's treasure, and in Ceramics, it couldn't be more true.
What? My favorite things to make on the wheel are bowls and pots. One, they're useful, and two, they tend to come out the best of the lot anyway! Even if I mess up on a mug and have to start nearly from scratch, I sometimes still manage to get a small bowl out of it - which is always good 'cause the cats need new foodbowls anyway. Small bowls and large, most tend toward a broad cone shape with a narrow base, though I've tossed out a few which defy the norm. Pots are even more fun - the good ones are the largest of all my projects, and while the drain-hole is usually a little, ah, overzealously cut (read: too big!), they still turn out very well, and decorating the base is always a treat. And don't forget the "weird" pieces - those wonderful, funky so-called "accidents" that not only look cool, but look pretty and can yet serve a purpose!
How? I use primarily the stick and pin tools, though I've used the blue rib a few times this semester and have discovered the joys of bisqued shards, which allow me to foot a piece even when it's too dry to use the loop tools! I work mainly on the wheel, and while I've puttered a bit with making some hands-only pieces, I've unfortunately yet to actually finish any this year. The sponge is invaluable while on the wheel, and while I sometimes inadvertently or am required to add my own twist to a technique to make it work for me, or to get the desired effect, I've learned, bit by bit, wonderful tips and tricks to add to the basics of throwing know-how, courtesy of both my fellow Advanced students and our own dear Mrs. H.
I try not to look at something as a mistake when I'm working with clay. Even if the remnant of a giant ball of clay is a tiny little bowl, or the walls collapse and sag, so long as it's intact and won't explode there's a more-than-likely chance I'll still keep it. Who cares if it was made or looks "right" or not - it was fun to make, fun to glaze, and looks pretty cool anyway! It's like when you're in a play - if you fall down or forget a line, don't freeze up and try and start over, but just go with it and get back on track!
Everyone's different, beautiful in their own why - so why can't a "mistake" be beautiful, too?