This is my second year taking a ceramics class at Mount Si High School. I have taken it both semesters all last year and now this semetv. during my first semester I 
struggled alot with the ideas of centering, pulling a wall and handle, footing, glazing, etc. But slowly as time went on I began experimenting more with the clay and finally got the hang of the more complex techniques. I created good projects that got better each time I got on the wheel. I started to see that all my projects had a similar theme.

The theme I have chosen is surface design and detail. I cam about this idea when comparing my designs to projects with just one color of glaze. I found that mine seemed much more detailed in comparison but no different in quality. I thought that showing the surface designs was a good idea for my overall theme. I wanted to show that with these designs it catches the attention of many observers.

How I made my theme possible was starting with the project of simple design and then adding uniqueness with the glazes. I began with altering a bowl, cup and, plate on the wheel. Once out of the bisque I dipped everything in clear and then splattered 10 different colored glazes onto each. The multiple amount. Of colors gave the projects a similar look but not one surface design looked the exact same giving them all a unique feature. My next project was a pitcher that I created on the wheel. I took I pin tool and created sporadic designs in the clay while the wheel was spinning. After glazing it Ina dark blue you could see the engraved surface designs. Again the surface design was not a pattern but rather scattered giving the project a design of its own. Finally I created a plain bowl and plate set that had no engravings and were rather plain before glazing them. I used a clear base and then, deciding to try something different, took a deep cobalt blue stain and created splattered lines on both the plate and the bowl. The lines transformed the plain bowl and plate into two beautiful pieces of art.

I chose this theme because I found that creating different surface designs was very interesting. This theme and my projects are all representations of my experimentation throughout this whole year in ceramics Just as my projects started off a little plain so did my fear of trying different things. But as my projects grew in creativeness I grew in self confidence. 

Everything I have achieved in ceramics has shown me and others an art skill that I thought was never there in the first place. I have learned that with perseverance and determination you can accomplish many things. In ceramics, you are constantly making projects that no one else would have thought could be done which gives this art skill a satisfying feeling. I have grown to love each of my projects for their designs that are unique for me. They portray a part of me in each one.My goal was to turn plain objects like plates into something more unique to make my projects stand out. I made multiple projects that tied into my theme and my goal was ultimately reached.

Ceramics theme outline-

I Theme

Similar structure with different glazes 

-in terms of the way the projects are created – showing structure 

-the painted glazes are simple  in a way that shows off the structure of the project but also adds to the overall display.

Using dark colored stains to create simple glazings .

II What

set of bowls with similar shapes 

III How 

Two bowls These are painted with 
Green glaze 
Thrown projects with throwing marks that show how the projects were pulled up. The dark glaze engulfs the entire project.

Using large amounts of clay the projects must be made faster then one thinks so it does not collapse within on itself. Using the blue tool to create a nice shape to all the bowls. The simple glaze over the projects allows the observer to concentrate on the large structure of the project instead of overwhelming if with different glazings.
IV Why

Although most wheel projects reflect the process of a moving wheel as opposed to the motion of the potters’ hands moving up I have chosen to emphasize this by the simple glazes. These somewhat bland colors add color without completely taking away from the projects structure. The somewhat plain projects such as soft slabs, make an easier canvas to paint because of the variety of options to detail them with. Finally using a combination of techniques as well as splatter painting I have added to a complicated moving form – a teapot or pitcher – objects that are meant to pour liquid – what looks like a soft and moving part of the entire form.

V Conclusion

Although I have been painting on ceramic projects for a few months it is only this fall and winter that I have become aware that how the glaze affects the look of the structure and can really emphasize how the project was created. I also have become more interested in more complicated structures such as large pots  – particularly ones like vases and bowls  – these simple glazing adds to the simplicity of the very large projects.

i think my theme will be a simple one this year just dealing with the similar theme of the same project with different glazes.