Artist Statement
I don't consider myself an artistic person but after 3 years of ceramics I have convinced myself that I do indeed have some artistic genes in me. I truly enjoy making new pieces and challenging myself to come up with creative and meaningful designs. Working with clay helps me to relax and pushes me to be more creative and try new things. My main goal next year is to improve my time management and work at a faster pace so I don't feel rushed at the end of my projects. I also want to continue to improve the quality of my work. Smoother edges, less cracks and more consistent
glazing will be the areas I will focus on.
I come up with most of my designs by looking online for inspirational images and ideas related to my project. I then do my best to sketch them out and I also ask my mom sometimes for her opinion on which sketch idea she likes the most. I try to use different materials each time to become a stronger ceramist. I used terra cotta clay for the first time when I made the salt and pepper shakers and I worked with stain more. I also used outside materials to make my pieces visually stronger like with my surrealist bust. I added starfishes and seaweed to emphasize my theme.
This was the most challenging year for me and some of the pressure came from me. When I sketch out a project I have many details and ideas for what I want but when it comes time to complete each phase of the work it is sometimes challenging to get every design element incorporated. My initial design for the surrealist bust was to be more detailed then my final product but at the same time I also made some improvements to the design that I did not have. Time management became a big factor for me in completing this project but overall I was happy with the final piece. The trivet of the fish was one of my favorites even though it was challenging to carve out . For this particular design I practiced at home with play dough so that I can work faster in school with the carving. These projects plus the other projects this year showed me that I can push myself to do more complex ideas and take my work to the next level. I am excited for whats to come next year and I can't wait to continue improving my ceramic abilities.