Finished pieces:D

Awwwhhh I am really proud from my pieces. I really love the delicate color of them :D
Here is a few photos of my pieces. Really smooth surface is what i wanted to get as a result:)

teapot with origami swan:) 

The tea set:)

I got some see through blue material, to make it look like a water, I also got a white feathers. I hope it presents well:)

Bisque Firing & glazing

Me pieces made it :)  I decided to use Transparent glaze. Transparent glazes are used as finishing coat over underglaze decorations. I started of the tea cups. I deeped the pieces in the transparent glaze, after it dried i made sure that there is no left drip marks and finger marks, as my pieces are functional it would look very bad if it wouldn't be glazed evenly or there would be left non glazed patches. I repeat it with the plates and ate the end The hardest one was the Tea pot, as it ha spout, First i had to pour the glaze inside of the pot and with fast move pour it out, to not block the spout. .

THE TRANSPARENT GLAZE 

Sketchbooks and contextual

As i was waiting for my pieces to be fired I decided to work on my sketchbook and contextual notebook.
i found some awesome ceramicist Carol Wedemeyer.
There is few pieces he made:

Making the tea cups and a plates..

TEAPOTS

This is harder than i thought... I started with cup.. Firstly I started with a coil building method. but it did not work so well. I wanted my cups to be delicate, and the surface very even. I started again:) I rolled the clay
cut out a 4 circle shapes for the base of the mugs, then I cut out 4 rectangular shapes, long enough to fit with the base.. i also cut out 4 very skinny rectangular  to make handles and then with a slip i put them together. after all from very rolled, very skinny slabs of clay i made the wings.

THE PLATES

I had to practice to cut equal shape circles. so i cut out 4 small (for the base) and big circles. I cross hatched them one side of small and big circles, it has to be the one I want to join. I used slip.

Making the pieces! :)

Finally real fun began. There  is a few designs i made for my tea pots, and cups :)
I choose the one i thought is going to be perfect for the project. The pot with handle as a swan neck, and little wings from the both sides, the tea cups are going to have a little wing on one side, and small handle but without swan head. There is going to be 4 teapots which are going to represent children of the Lir, The tea pot is going o represent the fragility and beauty of the swans, as it reminds the swan the most. I am also going to make four little plates, for under the cups.  All project is going to be white or creamy, I want to keep it as delicate as it is possible.

I looked for the swan tea sets in the internet, and there is two of  the most inspiring for me, unfortunately the artist is unknown.

MAKING A TEAPOT:
I started my teapot, from pinch pot  making methods, I made a two bowls, and the joined them together, by using slip. To make a handle i rolled a bit of clay and made a swans head. I put it together same way like the bowls, with use of slip.. although i had secure the handle to not collapse. I cut out the circle on the top of the ball to make a space for lid. To make a spout i used a special round tool, which kind of reminded a stick, a rolled the clay and then fitted on the tool. when it dried up a little bit, i took out the tool. i cut out the hole for the spout and then i put it all together. I have to say the effects are very nice:D

Marge Margulies

I found this amazing artist, she is  a Graduate from the Philadelphia college of art in 1981

 'the intend of the work is to give the impression of movement and fluidity.

  It is very much about the color as well as random and conscious groupins,

  which can resemble things found in nature. Intended as centerpieces,

 my centerpieces, my compositions also work very well for mane food-related uses.

 The combining of carious separate form elements achieves, i hope, 

a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts'

All her pieces are wheelthrown, altered and painted with colourfull glazes. They are very lightweight as a result of Marge's intention to throw in an even, well-ballanced way. All her pieces are also dishwasher and microvable safe. I think this woman is going to inspire me:D

3 D pieces... took me so long!!!

I made a 3D pieces. I used paper and scissors :D
I made a 3 basic swans :D the technique I used to make the is called Origami. I learned that Origami is a traditional Japanese art of paper folding. Origami from ori meaning 'folding' and kami meaning 'paper'.
To make a 3D Origami swan i needed 484 paper triangles, therefore i had to cut out from the paper sheets, 484  small rectangles and then I folded them into  triangles units. I joined the units together side by side, finished first and second raw.. i continued up to 7th raw, then i started narrowing the  after each raw, on the two side.. they started look like  a body of swan.. the easiest was neck :) that was veryyyyyy long night! The reason why I choose to make this 3 d looking piece was that it remindsm e the idea of the cup  I would really want to make:D

Magic and spells.....

I have decided to use for my project the story of 'children of Lir'. I just think it is going to be more interesting, I am not Irish and I am going to get to know part of Irish culture. As i said in my last post, I went to take a photos of swans.. have to say they are so great looking, but also very cranky!! when i started taking pics, they got very confident and actually started fallowing me! i got some fright.. haha funny thing is, that in the water they are amazing but when they walk on the look fair weird :D  so here is few photos:

I found out the types of swans like :
> whooper
> trumpeter
> tundra
> black-necked
> black
> berwick
> corsoba
> whistling
> mute

I started doing the research about the swans. Awhhhh I think they are a beautiful creatures! the line of their neck, they are just amazing.

I also had I little chat with the tutors, to see where my project is going to.  I told them about the fairy tale i choose, amazingly there is Irish legend, with very similar story! It is called 'Childer of Lir'. hmmm now i have to think which one is better for my project. 

To extend my research I am going at the river, to take a photos of a swans! this is going to be exciting.