unfortunately, I feel like this poor child of asian decent. I've hit a wall. The wall of all walls, and I can't break through. Seriously I just don't know what to make anymore and it's so bad that it's to the point that idk if i even really want to make stuff anymore. I need some inspiration and some ideas. Maybe I'll come up with something eventually... but some help would be nice, supportive, caring AP art family! anyways that's it.

Oh hot dayumm who knew that coil girl could throw.. I didn't... that's fo sho. haha but thanks to some help from my buddy, my pal quinny, I managed to throw this actually half decent chip and dip bowl for my breadth section. By no means is it perf, but I'll take it. And I'm not going to spend class after class trying to throw a better one b/c 1 I don't have the clay and 2 I'll get REALLY frustrated. so yeah, this is it.

I finished another drum! Finally. It's just a simple, plain one. I was really just trying to perfect the form and make a smooth surface. I feel that I accomplished that so, yeah. Here's the picture of it, and sorry it's fuzzzzzy wuzzy...

I guess that now that I look at it a little more, I need to perfect the circle...

With forecasting taking place last week, my life became a little easier. I decided to take ap again next year so yaya to any other junior who made the same choice!! :)
That's where I'm at right now, and other than that, more of the same haha.
And so, since i need a picture i found one of this chill frog cause this is how I'm feeling about clay right now. I'm pretty chill with it.

So, I've really kind of been struggling to get anything done, and I feel like I've just hit a wall. I hit a super thick, super strong wall, like a wall that would be sufficient to be the door to a vault at the richest bank in the world. I feel like I would have a much easier time if I could make a mold that was a circle. I'm not sure what to do, and that's where my thinking's at right about now.
I found a happy picture of a bouncy ball because it's a perf sphere which is what I need and it's happy. so, yay.

I finished another one. it's pretty much the same as the last but a little different. The neck is shaped a little differently (and attatched in a really crappy way). But it's also a slightly different shape. So yeah, that's about it. and the hole is not so round because I forgot to cut it out until it was bone dry!
But, basically, I've been feeling really uninspired lately, so if anyone has any SERIOUS suggestions about what the heck i should do for the next seven projects please tell me :) and trent, I'm not making a turtle.

Frank Giorgini's Udu Utar Played by Brian Melick

THE PLAYING OF THE DRUM :) for those of you who were just dying to know!! btw it's played by the sexiest man alive, so brace yourself.

In addition, this is the style I've mainly been trying to build lately. More traditionally, they are more round with a neck that blends in well with the rest of the body. Amy doesn't have a good mold for that shape, however, so I've been using the big blue one to make drums more like this one.

january projects

I'm going to miss the deadline. I'm almost done with my second project for january, but I don't even have any kind of idea for what to do with the third one!! If anybody has any ideas or something idk haha help me out please :)))))
Anyway, this is the only project I have completed for the month of january! I made used that half circle blue plastic mold thing to make two almost semi circles. I made them out of coils and I smooshed them together to make that scale pattern thing. Then I beat those with a paddle and attached them together and I made a spout type thing for the neck and cut a hole in it! BAM!! successful udu drum that I'm not too embarrassed to say was constructed by myself.

So, I have been thinking a lot lately that my projects have been lacking a little in the quality department... But now that I have got the first three out of the way, I feel like I now have a pretty good grasp on what it is I will be doing to make my projects wayyyyyy higher quality. I'm going to start working more in parts, and doing things in a less basic way-- adding designs and textures and new parts onto the basic forms. Such as making two drums in one or more complex versions of the original drums.

Empty Bowls Flyer

I did it! It's in the window of the Tangles salon!

mini udu

so my bong.. i mean second udu drum is done. And I used the piece of palm tree bark that kenzi gave me to paint it with. I think it's pretty cool, and much of an improvement from the last one!

first udu drum

In a great rush, I completed the first udu drum. It's not very good. It ended up being waaayyy too big, and it's off-center. Also, the holes at the top and in the middle of the pot are supposed to be small enought that they can be easily covered by a hand... Maybe the holes on this pot are small enough for a giant to cover them easily. This was really the trial pot, and for a first attempt, I guess I'm happy with it. I probably will not include it in my portfolio but that depends on how all the rest of them turn out.

It's Official.

After doing further research of coiling methods, I have OFFICIALLY decided to completely change my concentration. Instead of doing coiled planters with different textures (which was a totally lame idea), my concentration will be the udu drum. It's a type of drum that is made originally in Nigeria by women who use the pinch coil method. There are many different ways that these drums can be made, and I think it's a perfect idea for my concentration. I'm really excited to start working on it.... and I'm going to have to work fast since 2 projects are due in like a week -__-

After seeing photos of the amazing artwork by Wendy Hoare, it's making me analyze my work even more than usual. In class, Amy showed me a magazine that fearured some of Wendy's work, and as I was working on my piece and looking back and forth between the photos and my piece, I started to not like what I was working on. I feel that I am doubting myself as an artist, and I need to realize that Wendy has probably been developing her idea for many years, whereas I have only been working on it for a little while. Maybe in a few years, I can develop my ideas to the point that they are as perfected and as awesome as hers :)

I keep constantly thinking about my concentration, and every time I decide on an idea, I end up deciding it's not good enough or I just don't like it. After doing a little more research, I discovered this technique for placing designs of leaves on pots. I don't want to do an entire concentration on it, but I do want to find some way to incorporate it into my concentration which I'm pretty sure will be something like differently textured coil planters.
This is what it looks like though...

Concentration

I'm quickly realizing that chosing a concentration is not easy. There are way too many things that I still want to try in ceramics that I don't feel like I'm really ready to create a million of the same thing. But I have a ton of ideas...
These are just images I found from googling coil pots that really inspired me for some of my possible concentration options.

Completed Family Project!

Basically, after way too many days of staying after school and working until I was falling apart, I finished my family project. The five huge coil pots are done, and I have to admit that I actually could use a break from coils. As I progressed through the project, I realized that I was putting less and less love into each pot because I was getting bored of coiling. So, the first and second pots that I made definitely turned out better than the last couple. (a lot better actually... I almost want to try and remake the last one or something) But here are the five completed pots to the greenware stage:

Guest Artist Supplies

This amazing person named LEXIE WILKINSON was referred to the Rebuild it store in Portland over the summer, and I'm so happy she made me go with her because we went there today. I got this entire drawer full of knick-knacks for $10 and I would have paid a million at home depot. So, thank you Lexie for making me go with you to the junk store :)
Here's my drawer...

Family project progess

So I've been coiling like crazy, and believe it or not I'm actually getting a little tired of it... but just a little. It's been going really good, and the parts that I've completed have turned out well. I'm excited to see what it's going to look like when I'm done with all five pots.
These are the three I've done so far...

Progress on family project

this is the beginning of the first, biggest pot: