This was a piece I found that has really great surface texture. I think the different textures are really interesting. I like how there are verticle lines and also more of an organic looking texture. This piece is definaltey inspirational and I would be interested in making a pot and using similar textures.

This is one of the pieces I found when I searched for Raku pottery. Raku was created as a process of firing used to produce work of "refined simplicity" for Japanese tea ceremonies in the 13th century. I'm really looking forward to doing some of my own raku this quarter. I really like the look of raku pottery and it's a lot of fun to make. I raku'd my shoe, and my world that I meant to chia but I don't have pictures of them up yet.

I had a hard time this quarter getting inspired and making pieces. I tried several times to try and make pieces but they never turned out in a way I liked. This quarter I want to practice different techniques with the clay to see if I can make something that I feel good about. I am also going to try and research possible ceramic pieces so I can get ideas for making some of my own.
I definatley learned a lot about what worked and didn't work when it came to making my pieces and I plan on looking back at last quarter and hopefully learning from the mistakes I made.

I found this piece while I was looking for inspirational garden art. This is a bird feeder and I thought it was really creative how it is shaped as a hand.

I think I would like to try making a feeder like this and possible fire it using the raku process.

For my mug I started by using the pinching technique but made it into a small mug. It took me awhile to get inspired and I had trouble starting this piece but I was able to finish it. Once I made the small mug shape I carved a few small flowers into the side because I enjoy nature and I love flowers. After I fired it I was able to glaze my mug and I used a really dark green on the outside and a light red on the inside of it. Then I took a black glaze and put that around the top of the mug and drew a few lines leading to the center of the inside of the mug.
I wasn't totally happy with how my mug turned out. I think it could have been better. Next time I think I will use the slab machine in order to make my piece neater.
I also wasn't able to take photos of my mug because for awhile I couldn't find it. Once I am able to get photos of it I'll post them.

Mug Inspiration

For my mug creation, I looked for inspiration and found plenty of intricate ceramic mugs. I chose to put this mug up on my blog for everyone to see because I thought this particular mug was made very well, and the glaze color and design worked out perfectly together. Also I liked the tree design on the mug, and my theme for my pieces are nature/floral design so this mug gave me some good ideas for my own pieces. The mug that I made I did take pictures of, but I couldn't find them to post on my blog. It was a bowl shaped mug with engraved flowers on the side, that was glazed a dark green.