lucyschaos-blog

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Design in Context - Project Evaluation

Overall, I have found 103 to be challenging, it’s been fun and fast paced, but I feel I have not had any room to experiment or even meet the requirements to a high standard. Learning these new techniques has progressed me further, though I can’t help but feel like I’ve missed steps. 

Glass - It was an enjoyable project, I think making up a life form was a great start or back story for a project but didn’t seem to fit with the end result. I could of done more research and perhaps planned my outcome a bit more. I’d definitely like to cast in glass again but with something more inspiring in mind. 

Metals - Loved the narrative story idea and starting to experiment within metals, my work needs more artist inspiration though. I found it hard trying to meet the demanding standard in here mainly because of the time frame, each area needed you to back to it when you had to be fully focused on the next rotation. I’m unhappy with what I produced, I would make more experiments around the final idea before committing next time, there are parts like the ballerina that could be pushed forward more. 

Ceramics - Surprised myself by having a good time in this rotation, didn’t expect to but did. Slip casting is highly addictive and efficient, my work could be a 1000 times better, I could have a handle for starters. This once again was perhaps too much for three weeks, especially thanks to unforeseen problems and delays, handles being printed to small and transfers not arriving until late. My head was spinning with a few concerns, mainly whether my pieces would meet criteria or even work. I’m happy that I’ve produced something, mugs or tea bowls, they're made. I lacked care or passion for this part of the brief, which in turn let me down because my drawings aren’t particularly well thought out or anything else for that matter, the whole thing has been more of an on the spot decision making after seeing the previous rotations struggle and knowing we didn’t have time for mistakes.

In general, each of these rotation could use more work. I haven’t been pushing myself hard enough and the outcomes reflect this. My aim is to push myself further next year, push the box, create something more exciting and not hold back because of worries over constrains, use everything to my advantage. I can understand why this project is the way it is and am thankful for the extra time learning about the other areas, ceramics, throwing is something I’ll continue to do as a hobby. Glass, casting was amazing in a way, Colin Reid is an inspiration, I have a fair sized piece of tree bark I’d love to try casting, and polishing was highly satisfying. I still want to bring it into jewellery somehow. Metals/Jewellery is definitely where I want to be, I’m a mixed media artist, making my fabric brooch was my favourite part of this entire project, outcome isn’t perfect but I love how it sparked my interest and imagination. That’s what I’m looking for.

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Ceramics - Product Anaylsis

What is the function and purpose of the product? 

The function of my product is to be a drinking vessel, it’s purpose is to sit comfortably in the customer’s hand and hold a sufficient amount of liquid, cold and/or hot, that it entirely up to the person. 

What are the different parts of the product and how do they work together? 

My product is now only a singular piece. If I had a handle or created a handle that worked, they’d fit together through the basic joining method, the handle would take the weight of the mug, yet work with your hand to create a well balanced support. 

How does the product use shape, form, colour, texture and decoration?

Simple, well rounded shape means it’s stack-able, small so doesn’t require a huge amount of room, colours - white is clean, a touch of colour to make it pop i.e one max, but option in a range if it were mass produced. Texture - smooth but with hand made imperfections from solid/master model, gives a homely feel and personal touch. My abstract cherry blossoms are feminine, but can be interpreted, they are also a new twist on the classic floral patterns.  

What materials are used to make the product? 

Cherrywood clay - Master Model, has no grain, seems silly throwing away the model after cast but there is not much else you can do with it. Unless a clear removal is achieved so you can cover and re cast whenever necessary.  Plaster - To cast moulds, quick to use, I made two moulds and cast 18 -20 mugs without issue as long as well looked after and cleaned before each cast. Casting slip - Can recycle excess, this quality is efficient, this part of the process is also the most efficient, easy to maintain and easy to clear up. Stoneware glazes - Easy enough to maintain.

Which processes were used to make the product? Are they cost effective, overly complex, and suitable for the job? 

Throwing a master model - Suitable for job, perhaps not as cost effective as it could be. Casting two cast moulds - Simple, easy to do, defiantly could be the most cost effective way to produce multiple mugs with little fuse.  Slip casting - Good process, cost effective due to recycling slip. Biscuit firing - N/A  Glazing - Can seem complex, small issue of personal preference on how to apply, could be better. Final firing - N/A

Who would buy this product? Carry out market research to identify your customer and how much they would spend on such an item and price the work in relation to other similar products.

My customer profile is based around my mum and women around her age range and life style. RRP price range they’d normal spend on a mug £5 - £7. Price they’d spend on my tea bowl £3

How well does the product do its job compared with other similar products? 

Honestly, it’s not going to measure up to other mugs, it has no handle which can be seen as a health and safety issue, it’s small so would only be good for people who don’t want to drink much or use tea pots. If the final ‘mugs’ warp like a few of the tests, then it fails further as stacking would be awkward.

What is unique about the product? U.S.P. (unique selling point)

The unique thing about my product is its a contemporary take on the traditional tea bowl. It’s small size and lack of handle means it’s perfect for cupping and warming your fingers, it’s good for quick drinks like espressos. 

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Metals - Narritive Brooches

Final brooches, the material one is being modeled by the lovely Elin. These are the main reason I’m quite disheartened by this project, my ballerina brooch I hate now the more I look at it the more I dislike it. Both the backs have discoloured and gone funny so you can now longer see the writing, and I have no idea why, which sounds terrible as this is the area I want to be in. I need to try harder and ask more questions I think. 

On a positive note, my material brooch is more of a success, ignoring the back. If I was to do it over again the ballerina one would be left along after etching and the material would have an even bigger piece of fabric, perhaps in a different colour, still shear (I think it works well), and more writing/lyrics. The cape effect is just what I wanted, but for finished images I would work with a photography student to produce a more atmospheric photoshoot with my pieces.

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Glass - Life Form

Here are the final images of my life form, without extension. 

I’m disappointed I mucked up on the water displacement business, yet happy I can polish glass. It’s not what a pictured for this project and feel I could of done more with it. In a way I regret choosing blue, I feel it would of suited my idea if it had been clear.

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Ceramics - The Mugs

Top pictures show my final mugs before I started to glaze them.

I have decided to keep them all white, using a shiney white glaze, then paint on some abstract cherry blossoms in blue.

First, I poured in the white into the inside of the mugs to the brim, then poured it out again and waited for them to dry. I took this slowly because I wanted to get them right, I’m feeling disheartened by this entire project right now and decided to take it easy to as best as I could. 

Next, I put my hand inside and held them from there as I dunked them into the glaze up as far as I could get to the rim. Dipped and dried.

Now dipped in just the rim for full coverage.

Once they were all dry I wiped off glaze from the bases and started painting on petal shapes with a small brush. 

Each has a different pattern and it takes up only half a side. If they were mass produced, four different stencils would be made and applied to each. 

I’m pleased with them. They’re a really neat outcome, I was so worried about this project, but I’m so pleased I have done it! Now they too are in for firing, I hope they come out okay, so worried. 

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Ceramics - The Mugs

Back with the rest of my mugs, which have now all been bisque fired, I choose the four most identical ones and set them side as my final mugs. 

As for the rest, they are new experiments with different glazes, well, three are the others are in need of transparent because of the pink slip. As you can see, one of my mugs still has a rough rim, I just wanted to see some texture, something a bit different plus it’s highly unlikely to be drunk from. Getting back to glazing, I have double or trible dipped a few to try different colours, I also did a half and half. Instead of transparent and seeing the ugly yellow tone again I picked white, shiney white, along with some different tones of blue. 

I’m feeling quiet pleased now, I feel like I can sucessfully glaze. And they’re all in for firing so fingers crossed they come out okay! 

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Ceramics - The Mugs 

So my some of my tests are out of the kiln. I’m pleased they’re in one piece, haven’t shrunk too much and are very sweet, not please because of the yucky tone of the translucent glaze. Aside from its blehh colouring, it’s come as a bit of a shock that mugs I didn’t think were misshaped or rims I thought were okay, seem to have changed. Obviously there is the chemically change with firing to be considered, but I generally think it’s me, my mugs are far from identical. I know now I should of taken more care or tried harder to get them ‘perfect’. 

Apart from all this though, I’m loving the slip and wish I’d known how much I’d like it and want it before now so my final ones could have it... But I will push forward, I want to paint cherry blossom flowers on them though! 

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Ceramics - The Mugs

02/05/17

Today I collected my bisque fired mugs, they haven’t shrunk too much yet thankfully! They are really sweet and I’m enjoying the fact they are dinky compared to all the rest. And amazingly the one with the curls is perfectly happy!

We had a full introduction to glazing and demo. So these mugs were my experimental get-to-know-glaze guinea pigs. Also, it dawned on me the rest of my mugs should of been fired ready to glaze but... Well, they're all in there now. Hopefully be ready to glaze Friday!

Glazing was an interesting experience funny thing I thought it would be the easiest bit, but nope, it’s hard, really hard to get the right consistency and right covering. Because the most of my bisque fired mugs had coloured slip, which had just the subtle effect I was going for), they needed a translucent glaze. I mostly dunked the mugs, but I still haven’t found the best way to cover them equally yet. Rubbing off the excess glaze from the bottom was irritating beyond belief at times, I will try Chris’s cheat way next time see if it works for me. Towards the end, I got curious about coloured glaze so the strong salmon colour you can see on some is going to be blueish. 

I’m thinking I may keep my mugs white or translucent, I’m not overly keen on the blue, though I’ll try putting blue one’s in for reduction to see if they turn red. 

While this was happening, I continued to cast a couple more mugs, the fresh ones you can see in the images, were left casting for an hour and are very thick. In a way I’m excited to work with them like this though! Also, I have done another set and left them for twenty minutes, tomorrow I’m going to be risky and try a ten minute cast to see how thin I can get them. 

As well as all this, our slabs were fired, loving the yellow and red! We used the spray glaze gun to layer translucent glaze over and they are ready for the next fire. Mine was a little heavier in places but for a first time I’m proud. 

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Ceramics - The Mugs

Handleless Mugs

Since my handle is non existent, to continue this project in a progressive manner I thought I would look into handleless mugs more. 

Above you’ll find many examples of mugs without handles. 

So you might be asking who would use a mug without a handle? Well, it depends if you take size into consideration too, because of my mugs tininess it is technically classed as a teacup.  I’m sure you’ll see many people who can take the heat or prefer to clasp their mugs without using the handle, but traditional handleless teacups are still used in China with a Yixing teapot. You’ll also find them in Eritrea, the Horn of Africa, where they use them to drink boon which is a traditional coffee there. Or if go back 200 years tea bowls were common like they had in the Far East, it was towards the end of the 19th century cylinder, handled mugs became fashionable.

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Metals - Narrative Brooches

29/04/17

Finished my brooches!! Well.. kinda. The backs are on, and found object/material breach is finished completely, though I might add a stitch to fasten the covering knot. Also Anna pointed out the possibility that my claws may not be soldered properly because you can’t see the solder on the opposite side, but after the heavy treatment they have had I’m guessing they are fine. To finish them, I buffed up the backs with the sandblaster, I was worried about losing the etching by doing this, but it’s all good and still visible to the naked eye, still has the personal touch. As much as I loved the unfinished, annealing look, it’s not professional. 

The main reason I’ve been putting off finishing these is because I don’t want this project to end in a way, I’ve loved being in this workshop.

I just need to paint the cover layer on my patina. The ballerina brooch isn’t exactly as I pictured it but I’m still relatively happy with it, whereas I love my material one and am very pleased with how it has turned out, just need to get someone to model it!

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Ceramics - The Mugs

28/04/17

Today, I decided while I was casting to have a play with the coloured slip again along with some decorative mark making. I’m continuing to use pink/purple slip because if my handle doesn’t work, my mugs will be like Japanese tea cups so it represents cherry blossoms. 

Using my sharp edge tool I imprinted star like shapes onto one mug, and painting slip straight onto others, also casted more with decorative slip on the sides. Then I went back and started to clear up the rims of another mug, but my inexperience created curls of clay and possibly ruined the mug as a whole, it’s pretty but I doubt it’s going to work. It’s gone in for firing and I’m hoping it will come out unharmed. 

As for my handle, undercut... I hate handles now. I tried to save it and filed down the cast but I can’t seem to get it right and Jen had ago, then we slip casted again to see if It would work but it failed to come out again. I’m going to continue without one and push forward with my mugs. Feeling disheartened.

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Ceramics - The Mugs

27/04/17

Continuation of casting, still going well, hasn’t had any mishaps so far with dropping out the mugs so relief. Had a little experiment with coloured slip, painting it or flipping inside before pouring in casting slip, the effect will hopefully work nicely! Used pink/purple slip. These two will go in for firing without handles just to see what happens.

Surprisingly, I’m really enjoying this rotation, beside the handle nonsense, it’s been fun and nice to work in ceramics.

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Ceramics - The Mugs

26/04/17

Continuing to cast, it’s going well and becoming addictive. So far I have 5 mugs ready.

Moving on to my handle, two part cast done, finished cleaning it and it’s gone into the blue cupboard for a couple of days to dry out. I’m concerned with whether it will work. If not, then I’m not going to have a handle, I just regret making my mug so small. Jen helped me cast because her handle isn’t working so we are going to share mine. 

In the mean time I’m casting as many mugs as possible!

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Evaluation of Photographic Tales

I found Photographic Tales quite refreshing in comparison to the other projects. Firstly, it allowed me to work independently, second it was focused on the intellectual side because of the creative writing. And thirdly, it’s an area I haven’t been in properly since being at my previous college.

While I enjoyed it overall, I found the creative writing dull at points but this may just of been down to my choice of images. I think it would of worked better as a brief if we had more time and included perhaps a slightly less demanding topic. 

I can see many areas for improvement in my work, perhaps more explored images, research into artists, more consideration when came to writing my story. Aside from all this I’m glad I chose this option, creative writing and stories are something I’d like to encorporate more into my work.

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Interdisciplinary - Chairs

26/04/17 

Final brought in my cushion, Elin finished her paint work and here it is! In all it’s pink glory! Our chair. 

I think it’s quite successful kind of reminds me of Grayson Perry’s saying ‘All in the best possible taste’. It’s also fully usable to sit on and comfortable too.

I’m so pleased it’s finally together and finished!

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Ceramics - Mugs

Artist Inspiration - Catherine Lovatt Jewel

Title of work ‘Daily Beginnings’

Handleless Mugs.

I’m looking at Catherine’s work for diversity. I’m hating my handle work and like to leave it out but here I’ve found someone who makes money from her extraordinary take on mugs. 

Catherine’s work is eye catching due to the simple colour range and lack of handles. This work was designed and made for Serax. 

The little, urm pinch handles, are quaint but seem unnecessary in a way, while I understand for H&S reasons their are handles on mugs to prevent any awkward scolding but these are a bit pants. I do feel that if I was to receive something like this I’d be confused as to why it is there, would sooner have nothing. On the plus side they back the idea that a handle isn’t always 100% needed to be a mug.

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Ceramics - The Mugs

25/04/17

Today we started slip casting our mugs. The casts had been in the warming cupboard for a few days, they were lovely and warm. Pouring the slip was quite hypnotising, I’m glad I made my spare so deep because we pulled it or tear around the ‘rim’ before getting the mug to hopefully drop out. Mine took occasional persuading. 

I’m thrilled to see this at work and so satisfied with my mugs, even if they’re tiny, the shape is lovely. The only thing right now I’d go back and change (other than the handle), is how smooth the edges, they had a great hand made feel but after revisiting the brief I feel perhaps a smooth finish is called for but I want to fight the ordinary idea of a perfectly plain mug. 

As for my new handle, it still needs to be cast with plaster not sure how it’s gonna look against the mug though so tempting to not have it... Maybe I’ll have a couple with handles and leave they rest with out.

Amount of mugs cast: 2

Also during this session we had an intro into full slab making and decorative slip painting. My 8th picture shows my slap part way through decorating. We didn’t get to make the slabs ourselves this was done by previous group due to the fact they needed to be leather hard to paint/mark make onto. 

I had fun during this, I quite enjoyed experimenting, reminded me of acrylic paint. Mines in for firing can’t wait to see it I hope the colours are bold!

Note to self buy a a Chinese fan brush!

Technical process in Technical Notebook.