Creating the Clay Forms
 |  Originally realized in clay, these forms were designed to resemble topographical maps. They "fit" together like puzzles, creating an organic assemblage of pieces. |
They "fit" together like puzzles, creating an organic assemblage of pieces. This is the piece after it came out of the kiln--the first time. I did some minimal glazing, and the glass didn't melt as much as I wanted it to. Moreover, the very outer ring cracked! I was going to redo it, but my ceramics teacher convinced me that it was for the better, that the form was too complicated anyway. In the end, the MDF board ended up functioning at the outer ring. |  |
Cutting & Painting MDF Board
After cutting an MDF board to size (the curvilinear shapes were a bit tricky on the band saw), I began painting the panel. I wanted the panel to support rather than distract from the main ceramic piece, so I stuck to relatively simply blending with a few accents. I particularly liked drawing attention to the very edge of the board, so I painted it a deep, contrasting blue.
Painting the Fired Object
 |  |
After the second firing, the glass melted more. I painted over the clay in oil paint, and painted over the glass in spiderweb-like patterns. You can also see text written faintly in the lefthand image.
The Final Piece
 |  |
RSS Feed