I create original Art
While brainstorming ideas for this art project i reflected on foods that i enjoy not just random foods to chose from. One of my favorite foods to eat in the summer months is Crabs, as a family we go to the docks and catch the crabs and then go have a big crab feast. I used my own unique ideas in this work by picking one of my all time favorite foods and using my take on developing and perfecting the idea and shape of a crab dinner. By using this specific source of inspiration i really enjoyed making the crabs and old bay can, and i made it my own. Overall this project was really enjoyable and i was happy to make it my own original art reflected on moments of my childhood to be portrayed through my art. I really enjoyed working with this medium as well because you could get a literal 3d rendering of your image and directly enhance the pieces by adding texture and color.
I develop my art making skills
This project was entirely made of clay and painting processes. I really enjoyed this project because it gave me the opportunity to gain a better knowledge about clay sculpting and the firing process. Previously i had only done one other clay project that was very small, in this project we were aloud to do multiple pieces to contain a whole collection of what might be added in reality to that specific food. I learned new techniques to use with clay as well as specific rules to how to use clay, such as when firing you want to make sure all air bubbles are out of the clay to prevent cracks and explosions within the kiln. I also learned how to paint and apply texture to my art pieces with using color and clay tools, by doing so i enhance the likeness of the piece to the actual object in reality. Another medium i learned how to use during this process was clear acrylic glaze, previously i believed the only way to obtain a shine on a clay piece was through glaze firing but by using the clear acrylic paint i was able to gain a shiny finish on particular spots on the pieces such as the eyes of the crabs and the outer shell of the old bay can. overall i really enjoyed working with clay, it is now my favorite medium and cant wait to use it again in a bigger and more detailed piece. this medium gave me a chance to enhance details and pay attention to tiny minute details to form a bigger picture.
I solve problems
Lastly during this art process i faced my problems in creating this product. Firstly while doing the Old Bay can i engraved the words into the clay this made it difficult when it came to painting the words on the clay because the engraved letters didn't fire smoothly but in a more jagged fashion. I had to solve this problem by slowly painting the letters with an extremely small brush with a tiny amount of paint on it moving in fluid movements to neatly apply the paint into the grooved letters. this process was a little tedious and it took a while as well because each time i painted i had to wait for the original layer before it to dry completely so to prevent sloppy looking painting of the letters. Another problem i faced during this project was whether or not to attach legs onto my crabs, this was a dilemma because if i wanted to fire and sculpt the legs they needed to be fairly skinny in proportion to the body. If i made the legs to skinny i would have broken them in transfer to the kiln or they would have broken outside the kiln so as an alternative i decided to leave them off which ended up better anyways because the crabs turned out really awesome and are very sturdy. lastly i solved problems with the clay sculpting itself to get a rounded shape within the crab i had to plan ahead and make an under layer in the crab that was then covered by a thin layer of clay to disguise the inner parts of the crab that give it its shape. When doing this i realized air bubbles could have gotten trapped within the crab so as to avoid an explosion in the kiln i solved this problem by poking some small holes in the underbelly of the crab.
While brainstorming ideas for this art project i reflected on foods that i enjoy not just random foods to chose from. One of my favorite foods to eat in the summer months is Crabs, as a family we go to the docks and catch the crabs and then go have a big crab feast. I used my own unique ideas in this work by picking one of my all time favorite foods and using my take on developing and perfecting the idea and shape of a crab dinner. By using this specific source of inspiration i really enjoyed making the crabs and old bay can, and i made it my own. Overall this project was really enjoyable and i was happy to make it my own original art reflected on moments of my childhood to be portrayed through my art. I really enjoyed working with this medium as well because you could get a literal 3d rendering of your image and directly enhance the pieces by adding texture and color.
I develop my art making skills
This project was entirely made of clay and painting processes. I really enjoyed this project because it gave me the opportunity to gain a better knowledge about clay sculpting and the firing process. Previously i had only done one other clay project that was very small, in this project we were aloud to do multiple pieces to contain a whole collection of what might be added in reality to that specific food. I learned new techniques to use with clay as well as specific rules to how to use clay, such as when firing you want to make sure all air bubbles are out of the clay to prevent cracks and explosions within the kiln. I also learned how to paint and apply texture to my art pieces with using color and clay tools, by doing so i enhance the likeness of the piece to the actual object in reality. Another medium i learned how to use during this process was clear acrylic glaze, previously i believed the only way to obtain a shine on a clay piece was through glaze firing but by using the clear acrylic paint i was able to gain a shiny finish on particular spots on the pieces such as the eyes of the crabs and the outer shell of the old bay can. overall i really enjoyed working with clay, it is now my favorite medium and cant wait to use it again in a bigger and more detailed piece. this medium gave me a chance to enhance details and pay attention to tiny minute details to form a bigger picture.
I solve problems
Lastly during this art process i faced my problems in creating this product. Firstly while doing the Old Bay can i engraved the words into the clay this made it difficult when it came to painting the words on the clay because the engraved letters didn't fire smoothly but in a more jagged fashion. I had to solve this problem by slowly painting the letters with an extremely small brush with a tiny amount of paint on it moving in fluid movements to neatly apply the paint into the grooved letters. this process was a little tedious and it took a while as well because each time i painted i had to wait for the original layer before it to dry completely so to prevent sloppy looking painting of the letters. Another problem i faced during this project was whether or not to attach legs onto my crabs, this was a dilemma because if i wanted to fire and sculpt the legs they needed to be fairly skinny in proportion to the body. If i made the legs to skinny i would have broken them in transfer to the kiln or they would have broken outside the kiln so as an alternative i decided to leave them off which ended up better anyways because the crabs turned out really awesome and are very sturdy. lastly i solved problems with the clay sculpting itself to get a rounded shape within the crab i had to plan ahead and make an under layer in the crab that was then covered by a thin layer of clay to disguise the inner parts of the crab that give it its shape. When doing this i realized air bubbles could have gotten trapped within the crab so as to avoid an explosion in the kiln i solved this problem by poking some small holes in the underbelly of the crab.