Artist Study * Beginning Ceramics Final

For this assignment, you will find a ceramic artist whose work you are particularly drawn to…look online, in books or magazines for inspiration. The artist can be contemporary, meaning they are alive and creating ceramic art today, or they can be from any point in history.

Print out or photocopy at least two images of your chosen artist’s work. These photos will be passed in with your biography, and they can be black and white.

Please answer the following questions about your chosen ceramic artist:

1. who is your artist -important dates: birth, death (if applicable), when they were creating artwork, where they are from, where they work(ed)

2. what specific techniques do they use? types of clay/glazes, type of kiln/firing process *hint: when you see a word you do not recognize, ex. “raku”, look it up in Google or Wikipedia and describe that in your paper!

3. why did you choose this artist: what drew you to their work? why do you admire this person, what about your knowledge of ceramics makes them particularly interesting?

4. what connections can you make between this person’s work and your own ceramic work? are the two similar in style, concept, form or finish? or are they very different—and how did the similarities/differences influence your decision to choose this artist in particular?

Please use complete sentences, and type the paper….remember that the content is more important than the length of the paper! *Due Friday, January 13th*

Our next project will be a coil project based on the pottery of Maria Martinez and her son. Maria was a native american potter living in New Mexico and making coil pots for a living. Though she is no longer living, her pottery is world-renowned now, and we can learn a lot from her talent!

*Please watch this video if you will not be in class the first week back in January, as we will be watching it when we get back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S95t9Z9ev44

LUMINARY MID-POINT SELF-ASSESSMENT

Please answer the following questions in your journals and pass them in by Friday, Dec. 16th

1. What steps have you completed for your luminary project so far?

2. How is your project turning out compared to your sketches? Has anything changed, and how are you dealing with these changes?

3. Which underglazes/overglazes are you thinking about using on your project? What interesting glazing or painting techniques do you plan to try on this project?

Luminary Project Sketches

In preparation for your Luminary Project, you will be doing sketches in your notebook or on the blank page provided in your assignment packet. Please be sure to include all of the following aspects in your sketches in order to receive full credit for the assignment!

1. Write 2-3 sentences describing your dream. Include why you have chosen to represent this dream, and how you will show the viewer what your dream is.

2. Draw your luminary box and color it in! Include details like where you will cut out shapes.

3. Draw each side that you will need to cut out and write the measurements of each. This will make it easier to create a paper template in class.

This assignment is due Friday December 1st, or early for extra credit!

CLASS DISCUSSION: COMPLETED PROJECT

HOMEWORK DUE FRIDAY NOV. 4th

Please answer the following questions (neatly handwritten or typed) in preparation for our group discussion in class on Friday. Be prepared to show your project to the class and give a brief description of your process.

1. Describe the project you have chosen to show to the group: what assignment it was, what forming techniques you used (ex. slabs, slipping and scoring, wheel) what glazes you used etc.

2. What was the most difficult part of making your project? How did you fix this problem?

3. What ceramics techniques did you learn while making this project that you think you will use again?

Cup and Saucer Assignment Due Friday, October 14th

Your next project in class will be to create a cup and saucer based on a word of your choosing. This word will help you determine the colors, shapes and overall mood of your project. See the examples to the right of past students' projects!

*Your homework assignment is to choose three words that you might want to use for your cup and saucer project. *

Choose from the list below, or choose your own! Write down your three words in your sketchbook, leaving space for your sketches.

In class, we will draw out ideas for how each word could be turned into a sculpture that you might be able to use for your pinch pot project.

(If you want to start your sketches at home, you will get extra credit!!)

Remember that there is a cup and a saucer--how could you relate the two together? Think about whether you want your cup and saucer to be functional or sculptural.

acidic wiggly aggressive joyous silent tinystormy tired fluffy curly loud lovely slimyunruly precious dazzling elegant cloudy deliciousmysterious grumpy lucky puzzling enchantedancient valuable heavenly graceful dreary alivecrooked lacy rotten strange spiky poisedovergrown sleepy friendly

Since we are currently working towards making projects on the wheel, I would like each of you to find

an image of a bowl or mug

online, in a book or magazine and bring it in to class by Friday Sept. 30th

(if you bring it in early you will get extra credit!)

Choose a picture that inspires you and gives you ideas in terms of surface design or decoration