Ceramics - from A to Z

The transformation of a shapeless lump of clay to a sculpture I'm really proud of (and I don't say that very often since I'm very self-critical..). :)

I had a very clear vision when I started on the ceramics course - to make sculptures. And since I'm very fascinated by hands why not make one in 3D...

It took me two sessions to shape it. Between the sessions we put it in an airtight box with a wet towel over it so it wouldn't dry.

The greatest challenge as I see it is that when you mold one part of the clay, other parts start to "move" and change too. The material is very dynamic and it is very hard to call it done or to make it look perfect from every single angle. 

Another big NONO is to have long nails or you will surely damage the sculpture by accident.

After the molding phase, we let the sculpture dry, because if it is still wet when you put it in the oven it will surely break. And actually it did break, but for other reasons - In session 2 I had put on some extra clay underneath and most probably there were air bubbles in it. 

After the oven it was time for glazing and I chose a glossy white for this sculpture. I was a little worried I had put too much glaze on since you cannot see the wrinkles of the hand that well.

But I didn't have to worry! After drying in the oven the hand came out like this.

I'm holding my hand in my hand, hehe :)

If you look at the bottom of the hand you'll see where it broke. I'm not disturbed by it though, you don't really see it when the sculpture is placed on a table/ window ledge.

You can see a bit of the yellowish clay through the glaze, a very nice unexpected effect.

All the stuff I made broke in one way or the other. My bowl broke when I was about to glaze it, and my other hand broke in a place that makes no sense (other than it was still wet inside when it got burnt..? just guessing). The bowl couldn't be saved, I didn't care too much about it anyways.. but my hand, I really wanted to save it and my step dad glued the pieces back together for me. I will paint it and then I'll show it to you!

Making sculptures has been such a great exploring and learning process for me, this is really something I enjoy. Maybe more than painting...:)