transfers

glazes

glazed vase

this is my glassed pot, i used a solid white glaze to give my vase a white appearance before i paint on the design with on glaze pigments. 

this is my vase after the glaze was fired and 1200 degrees.

tiles

these are my completed tiles:

• the tile on the bottom right was created using a stamp, a stamp leaves an impression in the clay, this type of marking if very useful if you have a flat surface but it would be harder to do on a rounded vase.
• the tile on the top right was made using Sgraffito this involves putting a slip on the tile and then scratching through the slip to draw out a image. this is easier to do than paining the design on however you have to make sure the slip is dry. 
• the tile on the bottom left was made using stensiles, this involves putting layers of wet news paper that have been cut into a design on-top of your tile and then adding slip over the top, when the slip dries you remove the news paper revealing the design. 
• the top right tile was made by scratching out the design first and then filling the indent with slip, you then scrap off the excess slip, this one broke. 

this is my small glazed pot and stamp 

making of the vase using coiling

this is how fare I've gotten with my form as you can see i have gone very wide and the clay is very thick all the way through the form, next lesson i plan to make the form more narrow by decreasing the diameter of the next few layers of coils.
by the end of next lesson i plan to have the form fully complete and ready to be shaped and lightened during my day off, the reason that i am trying to finish the form so quickly is the firing is on Monday and i want to do on glaze and there for need more time than the people that are just using slips.

i will neaten the form up with a range of tools including a small raiser blade and a kidney shaped scraper.

on glaze painting

for my final practical lesson i used on glaze pigments to paint on my design, my design is utopia and dystopia and my design reflects this by having happy images on one side and sad images on the other.

one problem i had with this was the roundness of the vase distorted the straight lines, the way i got around this was to put the vase on a spinning wheel so i could rotate the vase freely with out having to stop and risk smudging the design.

i used two types of brushes on my vase, the first was a thick brush which i used to mark out the basic shapes and the second was a very fine brush that i used to paint in the detail.

to remove mistakes i used a small damp sponge with a pointed tip. 

lesson 3

in lesson three we learned about coiling:

first you have to flatten out the clay until its half an inch thick, we then took a scalpel and rotating clay wheel and cut the rolled out clay into a circle, we did this by holding the scalpel very still and at a stable pressure while rotating the wheel slowly, this cut threw the clay into a almost perfect circle.
after we had the flat circle we rolled balls of clay into sausage shapes before placing then in a ring shape around the edge of the flat circle, we repeated this process to build the form (going wider or thinner when required)

to join two coils that are at different consistencies (plastic and leather hard) you first have to etch markings along both and then uses a wetter form of clay to bind them together.

final design idea

for my final design i have taken  ideas from my previous vase ideas, i have taken the part i believe would fit the subject that i have chosen (utopia and dystopia a subject that we studied in contextual) the reason i think this design fits the role well is because both the design of the vase and the art work that is displayed on it reflect the message. 

the form:
the form of this design shows both perfection and deformation, this reflects the perfection of a utopia and the ugly reality of a dystopia.

the images:
the images portray a world with out effort and a world in chaos. 

sketches 2

sketch one is  of the pattern i want to have on the main section of my vase, half of this image shows a ideal society and the other shows nothing but destruction and restraint. 

 on the top of my vase i have two symbols  one was inspired by the sun (the one on the left) and this symbol will represent life and hope.
while on the other side of the vase there will be a symbol that will represent death as shown by a dead tree standing alone.

vase sketch ideas 1

vase sketch one:

this is my first idea for my vase it takes a traditional vase shape in the style of the vase that was given to the king with i presented in my research.

the reason i like this design is the smooth curved shape, i believe that this form is near perfection in its design and is why when people ask you to draw a vase this shape is what usually comes to mind. 

 vase sketch two:
in this design i have added to my first idea and incorporated utopia and dystopia into the vases design its self rather than just the glaze, i have done this by warping the vase on one side to show that one side is perfect and the other is flawed.

vase sketch three:
i have again added more to the basic design of the vase, the warping is much more clear now and i have lowered the handle on the dystopian side, this makes the vase harder to hold showing that utopia's and dystopia's can exist along side each other but its not easy.

vase first 3d design

vase1 click the image to go into the 3d view

lesson 2

lesson 2

our first excise was to make a small pot by rolling a lump of clay into
a ball and then with our thumb pressed into the middle we began rotating and
pressing with our thumbs to hollow out the centre.

-use water to smooth over cracks

- to push 2 peices of clay together smooth 2 contacting sides and shosh
them together to get rid of the air.

second task we watched the tutor roll out some red clay
(this clay will dye your clothes if you come in contact with it) to
role out the clay first you put news paper or a cloth down to make
sure that you do not stain the table, then if you are not conferdent
that you will apply even pressure put down guild rails ether side of the
ball of clay.

-i followed the step above

once the they was flat i cut it into two peices and then used lower guild
rails to flatten the clay to a lower thickness,once this was done (after
many trys) i left the clay to harden out of its plastic form.

carving the stammp

i took a plaster block and using a scaple i began to carv out my stamp
(my stamp is of a refined gentalman)

- wet the plaster

- when you finish carving remember to press it into rubbish clay to get
rid of all the loose plaster

after completing my stamp i used the tile cutter to cut my sample tiles,
into one of the tiles i pressed my first stamp.

- i put my finished work in the kilm room

- finished by cleaning my tools and table

lesson 1

in our first lesson we watched a power point presentation on different styles of vase and the project that we will be working on, we saw all the different styles of vases and allot of different artists that have used pottery as a political statement.

-went through the assignment brief

i took most interest in the cobalt blue dye style of vase because as a child we use to have a few peices over the fire place.

- we went on a trip to the museum to look at some local artists that had made some pots/ vases in a range of different styles to portray their feelings.

research 2

cobalt pigment

www.ceramicslife.com 

the glaze i want to decorate my vase with will have cobalt in it, this will give the glaze a blue tint and i feel will give my vase a traditional look showing that corruption isn't just a modern problem.
the reason i have chosen this style is again from personal experiences  when i was younger i use to enjoy looking at the blue crockery on the mantel piece, i always thought the dark blues made the plates stand out more than any of the glass or metal ornaments.

research one

my theme:
the theme i have chosen is the ideal and reality, through my vase i wish to per-tray the difference between how we want to see the world and how it really is.

the reason i have chosen this as my theme comes from many different experiences though out my life and things I've heard about or seen on the news/ documentaries, the first reason i have chosen this as a topic is because in the past i have been lied to, on the out side someone who lies seems honest and harmless for if you suspect the lie the persons lies will fall apart.

it was while thinking about this that i noticed a repeating pattern, we are always being lied to by governments  friends, family members, the news even when we are in school we are told things that are not true because its easier that way, we all know lying is wrong and yet doing it as its easier than admitting are mistakes, in fact in allot of cases its much simpler to except a lie than it is to hear something that hurts.

if no one could lie one of two things would happen, the first being no one could do anything bad as they would not be able to lie about it/ no one could ever be falsely accused, however what i think would happen is chaos as the human mind is not pure and jealousy and hatred fill human history, allot of the times fights haven't broken out is because of politics which if no one can lie wouldn't exist.

this theme could also be tied into utopia and distopia a subject i have been studying on the FD design for games course.

the design: 
to show the differences between a perfect dream world and reality half the vase will be perfectly curved and depict images of peace and happiness such as flowers on well cut  grass and people having a good time, while the other half of the vase will be warped and disfigured, the pattern on this side of the vase will be depressing showing images of corruption and violence.

Amphora Vase

Place Made: Cambodia

Medium: Silver plate

Dimensions: 18 inches

"Tall vase with two caryatid handles detailed with dragon heads in repoussé and finely chased lines.  Four large floral relief-ornamented lobes decorate the footed base and shoulder of this amphora.

This amphora was presented to Mrs. Kennedy by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia in November of 1967."

This vase is what i have used for inspiration, the reason i chose this piece as my base is because of this smooth curved shape which in my eyes is perfection, the design of my vase will not just be a perfect smooth curved shape as the design of the vase its self will reflect the theme. 

"'Catastrophe' vase

Maxim Velcovsky

(born Czechoslovakia, 1976)/ Studio Qubus

2007

Porcelain, natural and found materials

One of an edition of 6 unique vases

Lent by Mint, London

Velcovsky's 'Catastrophe' vases look like they have just been exhumed from an archaeological site. Brutal, even ugly, they appear to be covered in earth and detritus as though they have survived a natural or manmade calamity - an earthquake, a landslide or an explosion."

for the warp corrupt side of the vase i have used  Catastrophe' vase as reference, the reason i have chosen this as my second reference is because it doesn't conform to the normality of vase design, by this i mean it is not designed to be beautiful or elegant. 

the artist I've used as inspiration is Timorous Beasties because he creates beautiful pieces of art work but if you look closely you can see the designs are made up from so disturbing/ unsettling images.