New Teapot 2

The teapot finally has a lid!  Its taken several weeks and several failed attempts to get this lid made.  The first one broke, and the second one was too large.  Once or twice I went to the studio only to realize that I'd forgotten my clay and tools. Then, I had to wait for open studio at the Torpedo Factory to start up again.  Finally, I made three lids at once just in case, and this one works well enough.  The plan is to bring it over for firing ASAP, and have it finished within the next two weeks. 

New Teapot

I like teapots.  This time around, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what kind of teapot to make-- abstract, sculptural, practical.  What I decided was that I should combine my interest in pottery with my interest in figure sculpture, and make a pot covered in nudes.  The first lid fell through the top, so I am working on another one.

Metal Skeleton Update 3

Here are the newest pics of the metal sculpture.  What's new-- he has feet (more like shoes), a heart, and a face.  I still need to get a potted plant for him to hold, and I need to more firmly attach the mask.  I want to get some professional-looking photos after these are done.

As Jenevieve commented on the last post-- I am still thinking about what to name it.  Her idea was Garden Reaper, which is a pretty awesome name.  If anyone else has suggestions, I'd love to hear them as well.

Next photos will be of a teapot.  

Pitcher and Bowls

I've got some new photos of the metal sculpture, but I thought I'd do a pottery update first.  Still making my stuff a little thick, particularly around an inch before the foot.  Need to be more careful in the trimming stage.

The purple glaze doesn't seem to have had enough pigment, and shows the raw clay.  This was disappointing in the pitcher particularly because the divots in the side were supposed to allow the glaze to pool and change colors.  That's ok though-- with this type of pottery decoration you win some and you lose some.  You have to just leave it up to the glaze gods.

Metal Skeleton Update 2

Just one welding class left, and I'm happy to say that I will be able to finish the sculpture in time. There are just a few more finishing touches to take care of.

Sketches in Relief

These are sketches for a new piece that I'm thinking about.  We will see how it goes.

Metal Skeleton Update

I've made a lot of progress on the metal sculpture.  These are my current ideas on where the piece is going:  I have an idea of how to make pelvic bones for him, and I will make them next class. I've already made a rib cage, I just haven't attached it yet.  I'm thinking that he might not have any feet.  We'll see.  The idea for the head, at the moment, is to attached a gas mask.  I think that that would look really cool.  I want to finish the surface somehow, either by giving it texture with an angle grinder, or some kind of patina.  I will attach the chain to his arm next class, so he can hold a flower pot.  I want to make some kind of heart for him, and maybe some veins as well.

So far, I'm pretty happy with this little guy.  It has been my goal from early on to make larger and larger sculptures.  This is undoubtedly the largest, and most expensive, piece that I have ever made.