3D open & closed forms

OPEN FORMS-
To create these forms I first made a small ball using white clay. I then placed my thumb into the center of the ball making a bowl shaped form. Using the pinching method I slowly pinched the endges of the form insuring all the edges were the same width. As I pinched the edges of the form it began to change shape I created several different forms using the same technique.
Due to the nature of the clay some of the forms began to collapse as the width of the clay began to thin out. I could have improved this by using a larger amount of clay to create a larger form. I could have allowed my clay to dry out so it would be more sturdy, this would allow me to make the walls of the pinched form thinner.
After I made the basic shape of my forms I then used a series of tools to smooth the edges and give the work a cleaner look. To do this I used a curated metal kidney, rubber kidney and a smooth wooden kidney. These were used to remove the lumps and smooth out the harder edges. This made my pieces look more professional. When using the kidneys, I first used the curated kidney to remove the rough edges and lumps, this allowed the piece to take more shape. I then used the smooth wooden kidney to smooth out the marks created by the metal kidney. Finally I used the rubber kidney to smooth out the piece completely.
My three pieces were very different to each other as I wanted to test the clay's capability with this particular technique.
I could use this technique to make a large pinched form or a series of smaller pieces with various textures and shapes.

 CLOSED FORMS-

To create my closed forms I used the same pinching technique. To make the piece a closed form i made two open forms using the previous technique and attached the two together using a score and slip method. I textured these pieces using 3 different methods; adding pieces, removing and adding texture using sgraffito and pressing objects into the piece.
When adding texture to my pieces I had to allow them dry out to ensure they would still hold their form.
I could use this method to make a series of pinched closed forms with a variety of textures exploring the effects of different materials.
I then glazed my pieces using different types of glaze including copper and iron oxides and coloured glazes.
For firing times see - http://www.staffordinstruments.co.uk/files/clayman_firing_programs_ammended.pdf

After creating my open and closed forms I then made a series of pieces based on natural forms based on my chosen themes; Natural, Construction and Texture which would then be placed together as a final piece of work. I started by sketching a series of different natural forms using pencil to see how they could look as 3D pieces I then chose which ones I felt would look best together and started experimenting with clay to test the structures.
After experimenting with the different types of forms I started by making a closed form in the shape of a poppy seed, for this I added groves and coils to the work to make it look realistic. I also made a second seed pod piece. For this I first made an open bowl shape form and made a flat top and cut shapes to make it more representational of the seed pod I had chose.
After creating my work I allowed it to dry out slightly before I could place them together. I tested the composition of the piece placing them in different positions to ensure the structure would hold.

Equipment List-

• White clay
• Clay knives
• Rolling pin
• Kidneys- Rubber, curated, wood.
• Water

SEE SLIP CAST BOWL POST FOR CERAMICS HEALTH AND SAFETY.