Ceramics

Tori North. Sunrise Love (4x4x4), Terra (3x3x3) 2012 – Stoneware Clay with Terra Sigillata made with the Pinch Forming technique, Bisque/Pit Fired

The “spirit ball” project was a good time for creativity on a small canvas. We were able to broaden what we would normally do with a spirit ball which is just to make a sphere.  In Sunrise Love, I chose to make a more of a boulder shape to signify a more natural landscape for the carved elephants on the base.  The project taught me how to properly pinch form clay as well as make a seamless connection between the two halves. Once our spirit balls were complete, we then Bisque Fired them in a small kiln. Once that was complete, we drove out to a location just outside of Hays where we dug a giant hole and laid it with twigs and branches, newspaper, banana peels, flowers, and saw dust to get it to a high enough temperature to reach the desire effect on the ceramic pieces. I intended for my pieces to have more black and have much more contrast, however the nice thing about pit fires is you never truly know what your final product will look like.  In this case, both of my pieces have more brown then I would have liked them to.

     

Tori North. Growing Shame (30x7),  Broken Path (9x4) 2012 –  Stonware Clay with Terra Sigillata made with a body cast mold then Raku Fired

In this project I really learned that my fascination with the human body does not lay only in photography. The ideas that I currently have are too advanced for my current skill level, but the above work was a nice tester to what I am capable of doing and what my visions can help me to create. I chose to make the foot piece and leg piece because I believe our legs and feet are what carry us through the hardships in life and what keep us going strong. On the interior of the leg I have the lyrics to the song “What a Shame” by Shinedown and on the foot I have the chorus to that song to show the connection. I chose this song because it has a profound meaning that correlates to my work for this project. After reading the lyrics on the leg, you will better understand my piece.

Tori North. Broken Twist (11x7x5), Recoil (6x6x4) 2012 – Stoneware Clay with Terra Sigillata made with the Coil Forming technique, Bisque/Pit Fired

My research showed heavy likeness to the historical coil pots of the ancient Japanese culture known as Jomon pottery. I really struggled with this project in that I kept making my coils awkwardly and it was causing my pot to cave or collapse. The end result was making two different types of coil pots, Broken Twist was made in an attempt to salvage my first coil pot and I slip and scored a broken piece to the interior of the pot after twisting it for decoration, while Recoil was made in tribute to an ancient coil pot I viewed wear they used the coil of a snake as inspiration. Once our coil pots were complete, we then Bisque Fired them in a small kiln. Once that was complete, we drove out to a location just outside of Hays where we dug a giant hole and laid it with twigs and branches, newspaper, banana peels, flowers, and saw dust to get it to a high enough temperature to reach the desire effect on the ceramic pieces. I intended for my pieces to be blacker and have much more contrast, however the nice thing about pit fires is you never truly know what your final product will look like.  In this case, I am very fond of the brown, slightly burnished color that I came out with.  Recoil has more black in it then the rest of my projects, and I think it looks very nice with the unique brown/black color it got.

Tori North. Identity. 48x31. Stoneware. 2012.

Identity is a project that came from my heart and beliefs.  In researching an animal for this project, I started to seek out what kinds of animals were known for the same characteristics I hold dear.  After realizing everyone is more than one idea or word and at times could be torn between two actions, the griffin was the only choice. The griffin symbolizes both loyalty and honor (eagle), and aggression and strength (lion).  This suits me in almost every situation.
            My art tends to come from the heart and always have some meaning or deep concept behind the work. Identity is exactly that, art work from my heart.  She has many shades of two different colors, as well as a shinny glaze and a clear glaze. This shows the two sides that every person has inside them, whether they are equal in control and balanced, or one out shines while the other stays in the closet. Everyone has two sides and that is another point conveyed with my griffin piece. Instead of putting the eagle torso and head, I chose to put the torso of a female. I did this so that it could be more relatable to myself and other persons as well. 
            Identity was formed by the soft slab technique and built with eight total pieces.  She almost made it through the whole process without breaking, however due to sliding in the kiln when loaded the back right leg and tail broke off and will be glued together.  I feel that the different colors, glazes, and thickness of the color give her movement and emotion, allowing the viewer to feel her anger, sorrow, guilt, or any other emotion that is bestowed upon her.

Tori North. Teapot. 5 1/2x9x4. Stoneware. 2012.

                        Create two tea cups and a teapot in your own style and personality. The only requirements are that it has to be functional and use some form of the color blue. Ask yourself a question like; how does the color blue make you feel? Create a set base on what “blue” means to you, and set the appropriate scale.

Calendar
October 8 – Begin research for the Series
            10 – Slides and discussion
            12 – Idea file review of concept and form
     15-24 – Work Days
            26 – Complete series and dry for bisque
            29 – Bisque Series
November 5 – Glaze
                  9 – Photograph/Document Tea Party
                12 – Paper due

Evaluation
40/40 – Concept or function – Research, English vs. Japanese, Madd Hatter research, meaning of blue, blue glazes, sketches, teapot construction and functional rules

40/40 – Craftsmanship and Form – I used the soft slab technique to build my set and used slip and scoring with terra sigillata.

40/40 – Craftsmanship and Surface - I decorated it with incising, underglazes and glazes. The colors used created a diverse blue affect and some areas were so lightly glazed that they were “stained” blue instead of a deep, rich blue. I personally love this and thing it really adds character to the “madd” theme.

40/40 – Creativity and Style – Teapot  reflects me in that I know life is not perfect and things don’t always go according to a sketch. For example the blue glazing with the Salt Blue, I was expecting the deep black/blue to cover the whole set and ended up with some scattered looking blue glaze. I think this fits completely with the theme and the way I live my life. I may plan something one way, but the outcome no matter what is generally acceptable.

40/40 – Professionalism and Presentation – I contributed my piece, my guest, as well as a variety of snacks that I purchased and brought for everyone to enjoy. My work was done on time and had no cracks making it unusable.

Tori North. Three Sides. 46x24x6 ½. Stoneware. 2012.

            Create a project based on a series of three items that are connecting in concept or visually.

Calendar
October 29 – Develop Personal Series Problem
              31 – Ask for demonstrations if needed. Begin work
November 2 – Build back of torso and front
                  5 – Build face
                  7 – All pieces must be complete in mold
                  9 – Design face
                12 – Design front
                14 – Design back
                16 – Complete series and set out to dry
          26-30 – Glaze
December 3 – Photos
                  5 – Paper and critique

Evaluation
40/40 – Concept or Function – Research Japanese symbology and ideas in sketchbook, look at other figurative

38/40 – Craftsmanship and Form – In order to mount the three separate pieces to a structure, I put a flat slab on the back of the forms and then glued that to a large mirror. Unfortunately, while the flat slab was “flat” before firing, I did not count in shrinkage and it bowed slightly making it a little more hazardous to glue.

40/40 – Craftsmanship and Surface – The stencils are very well placed and color with underglaze and all of the incising are free of debris.

40/40 – Creativity and Style – I feel that this may be my most creative piece this semester. I asked a handful of loved ones to describe me, once I had their answers I chose to translate them into Japanese characters and used incising and stencils to decorate the figurative forms. I feel that once you know the story behind the art, you will be moved and find yourself relatable to the work.

40/40 – Professionalism – I finished the work before the due date and I feel that it is and will be displayed in a very tasteful manner for all to see.