Why I took Advanced Art
Advanced art... I don't know if I can answer why I took this class, I just know I wanted to. I guess I wanted to learn to have more patience and acceptance.
What I've done this year
To be honest, I haven't completed any projects that I have started this year. A lot of disappointment from my side and of course my teacher's side. It's not like I don't want to finish them, I really do, but this year has been a lot of finding myself. I don't really know how it ties in with my art, but for some reason I think it correlates.
Unfinished Projects
In the beginning of this year, we were given an assignment... as you can guess, it's not done. A little discouraging, but it gave me knowledge on how to work with the media of metal bending. I'm definitely not an expert, but I know how to work the metal to give more dimension and texture.
Most of what I have done, I am proud of. Not finishing all of them is a bit of a problem, but something will click. I wish I had more motivation at the time of these projects, but that doesn't mean I won't finish them. I don't want to procrastinate on them, but it needs to come from my heart and head to get them done.
Artistic Behaviors (I guess)
Even though it doesn't show in completion, I've definitely been working on developing art making skills. This year was about experimenting with new different types of media, getting out of my shell. I think that means it's okay that I didn't complete the projects. I'm trying to figure out what works best with me. Metal working was not my favorite, but I'm glad I worked with it. Glazing... OH MY... One of my favorites. Even though I've only glazed two things, it is always a good time in art when the glazes are out. Lastly, I come to watercolor. I honestly don't hate water color. It definitely takes a lot of skill, but I really enjoy working with it.
As I said before, this year has been a whole refection year for me. I hope it gets me on the right track of having more motivation. Most of the time, in art, I just stare at my work. I try to think of how to complete it, or what I should do to improve. Nothing happens physically, but it's definitely a reflection time for me. My goal is to at least reflect and get stuff done.
Goals
If I had to have a goal, it would definitely be to find motivation and persistence. To complete the rubric though, I definitely would love to create a large clay sculpture (or have someone else make it for me so I can just glaze it). Glazing that would be a fantastic experimental time, and would really spark my interest. My biggest goal of all is to complete my project I started this year.
Feb 22 2017
I observed a block of clay and thought wow, I could make anything with this, I have the power to create anything, so I created a generic vase.
I improved with coil building. I haven't done much with throwing, so building with coils is the next best thing. I used a coil gun, and built up until I was happy with how it was formed. Then I smoothed it out, and tried to carve out details, and texture. I just made a lid to see if I like it. I've improved on my clay techniques and my design techniques. Since I've worked with this project, I want to improve and work on more clay projects. This project meant a lot to me, because I overcame my art block and this has opened up doors to more projects. I would like to do more coil building, but make different shapes, and different textures.
Engaging and persisting, that's what I feel like I exhibited the most in the project. I actually wanted to do it, and I kept on going when I didn't want to. I gained skills by working on my project everyday. I learned carving techniques and smoothing techniques. I definitely have been very grateful that I kept on with this project, and that I get to glaze it.
March 24, 2017
At the beginning of the year, I definitely did not plan to create a giant jar, but I'm glad I finished something. I've really enjoyed working with clay, throwing, and building art, and it is great that I've been introduced to it. I've learned all about the techniques in throwing with keeping your arms locked in. I've learned about wetting to preserve clay, and drying out to bisque. Coil building is a blast, because its helps you make what you'd like faster. Building the pot has taught me a lot about how to take care of clay, and how to show yourself through it.
Well I have dabbled in a bit of collaboration in this last time I've posted. Mrs. G is an experienced thrower, no matter what she says, and she allowed me to glaze one of her bowls. I decided to test something out and painted an ambre blue-green bowl. Mrs. G thought it needed something else, and she was right. She wanted to know my opinion first, and asked if a tree would be okay. Totally,boy was she right. She painted the tree, and it made the whole piece beautiful. We both enjoyed using each others ideas and knowledge to make an awesome bowl. I think we both got out of it, surprises and beauty can come out of collaboration.
I've just wanted to stick with pottery and glazing for a bit because its what got my mind out of a wall. It pushed me to want to create something and want to finish it. Glazing is amazing, its a total surprise until the end. It just makes you want to do it more to see how it all comes out. Its just how amazing how many ways you can make art out of a block of earth.
Credits:
Created with images by TaniaVdB - "baby tears small child"