In this ceramics class I learned the beauty and the unique way of dealing with clay.The slip,moist,leather hard,bone dry and fired clay.Each clay have there unique characteristic and beauty.
The first thing i learned is that what ever type of clay i'm using it is good to get in the habit of wedging because it can eliminate air bubbles in my clay.Pinching clay is the first lesson i have learned in this class.To make my ceramic bowl.First, I fromed a ball of clay about the size of a base ball, this idea is to maintain an even wall of the bowl while i push my thumb into the center of the ball.Coiling is one of my favorite to used to make my piece and there are several ways of making coil,either i squeze thick clay in my hand or roll the clay into my hand on a smooth flat surface such as a tabletop or using the extruder.When i did my 10 inch.toll clay piece I used coil.Using the coil can make my piece get toller and it adds more intersting characters.Scoring and using wet slip is important when dealing with incising and sprigging my piece. And to keep my pot or my piece moist so i can continue working on it later i have to wrap it in a plastic bag.Once i completed my work i have to let it dry and wait to reach the stage to leather hard and then i can add more decoration and wait till the my piece is bone dry then it is ready to be fired. Note,when the piece is bone dry it is very fragile so i have to hundel it with care.Making slabs was more intersting because there are a number of ways that i can use it to make a unique and intersting piece.Also,there are many ways to make slabs i can simply puond or press the clay onto any absorbent material such as plywood,a plaster wedging table or just use a rolling pin.But,for me i rather use the slabs roller because is the easy way and it gives you a even thickness you wish.My 10 inch.vase is fromed of slabs.To make my slabs vase with 3 diamention i have to dry them to the stage of leather hard so that the piece will hold is shape then i score the edge of each section and painting it with slip where 3 slabs will be joined.
Even knowing how to use all these proceedure i still find my self having dificulties on making or doing my piece,like i had to re due my first bowl clay 3 times because i can't keep the interior wall evenly.Then when i was making my second bowl and it was in the stage of bone dry i totaly forgot to hundel my piece with care so it broke right infornt of my face.Also,i have difficulties in making my piece look exactly the way i drew it and i can't seems to remember all the proceedure when glazing my piece.I can't seems to figure it out which goes frist.The white slip,the red slip, the wet slip,the transparrent glaze that look like the white slip or the glaze that is also look like wet slip,all these made my brain to go to sleep.hehehehe.Any way all i have to do is to focus when Mr.Barry Wanenberge is demostrating how to do the proceedure when glazing a piece.And so i did,And again applying glaze is more difficult because i have to be very careful when using 2 or 3 color on my piece, because i have to use the wax resist.to protect the color that i dont want to get mix of with the other color, and the problem is once i applied the wax and it drop in any parts of my piece there is no way to take it out.so,using the wax for my piece can be so chanllenging.well i guess i need more experience in this class.
This time i remember all the proceedure about applying glaze into my piece. I can use the wax to protect the klin also,i can use the wax for decorating my piece and if i want my piece to be transparrent then i have to use the transparrent glaze and if i want to make my piece to make it strong,frim and to hold the piece to be more secure i can use the white slip or red slip while the piece is still in leather hard stage.Then if i want to put color on my piece i can use the glaze and choose the color i like and mix it.Lucky me. Mr.Barry Wanenberg" my teacher"already mix it for us because mixing the color with the glaze is very complicated and making it to the rigth consistency is more difficult.but,we have to know when it is to tick or to tin before we use it.And there are four ways to apply glaze into my piece.there is dipping,pouring,spraying and splattering.dipping is the easy way to glaze my piece than using a brash.
Having this ceramic class is fun and exciting.I just hope i can't learned more and understand the broader spectrum of making ceramic pots because it will help me utilize all of my unigue talents for a great cause.
Marlyn Madamba,student of Mr.Barry Wanenberg of Northern Marianas College.
NOTE:
I never knew that Mr.Barry Wanenberg has been a practicing artis for three decades,and a well known artis in the CNMI for his work on ceramics.Mr.Berry Wanenberg WOWS the world because his sculptures that he did in China "Earth's Car." that now is permanently belong to an automobile museum a huge landmark in an automotive town that boasts of sculptures made by artists around the world ."OWESOME." And I'm very please to have him as my teacher.mmmmmmmmmmm wahhhhhhhhh!!!. i wish i can be just like him.
