Unit 1 - Part A
I enjoy drawing very much but I am most interested in architecture and building structures. I love looking at designs and constructing things. My Uncle has built everything from a robot to a little wooden house and observing this has made me like the planning and design element. I also adore maths and art and maths can really go well together. I have done a lot of work with water colours and sketching in the past which has helped me obtain various skills, such as colour design and wetness. I have also developed in both my water colour practice and sketching, composition.
I have also obtained skills in performing arts and have been in many plays. I thrive when I hear music and have developed improvisation and devising skills. Dance comes naturally to me and although Drama can be layered and difficult to leave my comfort zone, I feel I can connect with my characters and convey their message to the audience. I feel the arts allow an insight to your emotions and experiences.
Right now, I feel I am experimenting and exploring my artistic passion and flares. I love trying new things and following a visit before lockdown to The Friars at Aylesford, I think a ceramic challenge would be brilliant. I had the chance to create a bowl and it was so much fun using the turning table and getting messy. I have discovered that prior to this I hadn’t used clay for many years as it’s something focused on in early years education but not later on so this would be great to strengthen.
I would like to be fully confident with designing and creating artwork from clay. I would like to expand the many different techniques needed in using clay and then how you may add paint or gloss the finished piece. I would like to challenge myself in creating something out of my comfort zone, something that isn’t easy. As I know from other challenges this is where my growth is.
My challenge is to create a clay piece that holds meaning. I had thought of perhaps doing a Lego exhibition / challenge representing the lockdown from the child’s perspective. I feel this a strength of mine as Lego was a favourite past time of mine when I was younger. However, as a group we agreed on a ceramic challenge. This I feel will challenge my weaknesses as I have never made a 3D object but I feel it’s a good opportunity to connect with my love for construction/architect as I will need to learn to play and build.
I will be creating a ceramic horse representing Sliepnir the mythological horse from norse mythology. I chose this because I want to improve my clay skills and accept my challenge. I chose Sliepnir the horse because it was the horse of Odin. This was where my name came from and I have always loved the history and mythology around the Norse era. Also, I ride horses and its one of my favourites past times. Horses are peaceful to me but strong and have always been used in art work throughout time. This will also be on a larger scale so I am looking forward to learning what is required. I look forward to hosting a private exhibition of our clay pieces/ artwork and we will be posting a virtual tour online which is open to the public. Each of us will always share verbally what we did and how we did it.
My Aims and Action Plan
- To explore some basic techniques for working in clay
- To learn about health and safety when using clay.
- To combine simple shapes to create animal/figurative characters
- To research, present and respond to the work of a ceramics artist you admire
- To investigate the properties of clay.
- To make something from Clay with meaning.
- To learn and put into practice the techniques to use and build with clay.
In order to achieve this, I need to break it down so I came up with the following steps.
1) Firstly, I need to research and design what my horse will look like. This will entail me not just looking for a realistic body shape of a horse but also to find inspiration to it looking as a norse mythological creature.
2) I would need to attend workshops in order to learn about clay before creating my piece. I will need to follow instruction from the artist and practice with the texture and movement of the clay.
3) I would then need to learn the pinch pot technique which is one of the challenges.
4) I would then need, with my design and practice begin to build the body of the horse using my pinch pot technique.
5) I will need using the shape I see and researched, create and make the head of the horse
6) Continuing the horse, I will make appropriate size legs following my research to make sure the shape is accurate to that of a horse.
7} Create and using my design as inspiration create the mane, the tail and little raven.
8) I would then in sections mould the pieces together to try and build my horse and join the parts with techniques learned.
9) I would then paint the horse following my design.
10) I would then need to glaze my art work.
11) Remember to look at action plan and follow!
To achieve this, I will need the help and support of Sue (the artist within pottery) with the techniques and supplying clay and paints. I will need to listen to her teachings. I will need help from Chloe to set up the online tour and advertisement as I am part of marketing and finally, I will need help from Charlie to organise a space to use for the event and to support me throughout this process with any concerns or worries.
Charlie, the organiser of the art award will help reserve a space for our exhibition. As a team we will work together to take on different responsibilities and we will follow a timetable so that all can be achieved from making the art work to putting on the exhibition. We will continue to communicate every week so we can resolve any problems and keep on target.
I am hoping to successfully create a clay horse and I am going to be taking pictures throughout my journey and document any issues that may arise and what is going well. We will be inviting a few people to visit our exhibition and they will be answering a feedback questionnaire. Also, within the team and tutors we will be seeking feedback.
| Workshop | Agenda | Outcome | Further work | Reflection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Working with Sue we listened and was shown all the different techniques to use with clay. We practiced with making a chicken and using tools. | Discussed with Sue my techniques and plan. Achieved making a clay bird and learned tools and how to use them. | I am going to look at Horses and artwork. Sketch and make notes on my ideas. | I know this in part is an individual challenge but I enjoyed working with everyone on our pieces. It was fun handling the clay. |
| 2 | Again, working with Sue, we practiced our glazing and painting techniques on our birds. We also discussed our individual plans. | We painted and glazed our birds. | Discuss and work with Sue on my horse body. Start building it and making it look less of a circle. Make notes on progress. Building the final pieces and connecting them all. | It was great to see our birds look like a real pottery piece. |
| 3 | Today in the workshop Sue showed us how to glaze our clay pieces and we reviewed each other’s clay pieces. | In this workshop I painted my horse ready to go in the kiln. I also got the chance to review my team’s artwork. | I am going to be writing and reflecting on my journey through the silver award course. | It was good to see colour on my horse and I am looking forward to seeing the glaze and its effect. |
| 4 | This week I was not able to attend so I joined the session virtually. Sue showed my final piece, which I was very happy with. We all reviewed each other’s final pieces and gave feedback. | I received feedback and I was able to evaluate my final piece. | Further reflection and evaluation of the silver award | Amazing to see my piece! I felt so proud of it, the hard work and stress was worth it! |
Workshop 1
Workshop 2
Workshop 3
Workshop 4
My sketches and research
