The last time I had clay to work with was in my first year of high school. I was twelve years old. Working with such a different medium now is certainly stretching me. Apart from the novelty of the tasks we've been assigned, there are all sorts of practical challenges. We're supposed to roughly shape the lump and then allow it to dry to just the right stage where it can be carved without making dust. Last week I let the clay get too dry. Now all I can do is sand it lightly--outdoors so I don't fill my lungs with fine powder. Yesterday I got carried away with shaping the wet clay. I ended up with an exciting form which was too fragile to handle. I left it for the rest of the afternoon to harden. By bedtime some areas were firming up nicely while others were still wet. What to do? I gently manouvered it into a plastic bag and taped it up. I'm resisting the urge to check on it this morning. I have to take my car to be serviced today. It will have to wait until I get home. Meanwhile my meals have been relegated to a bowl held in my hand. My kitchen table was already half-covered with stitching stuff. Now there's all sorts of clay stuff filling the rest of the space.
Showing posts with label design exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design exercise. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
New Media
I mentioned yesterday that this week's homework for Design class consisted of a lump of clay. Here's last week's lump:The last time I had clay to work with was in my first year of high school. I was twelve years old. Working with such a different medium now is certainly stretching me. Apart from the novelty of the tasks we've been assigned, there are all sorts of practical challenges. We're supposed to roughly shape the lump and then allow it to dry to just the right stage where it can be carved without making dust. Last week I let the clay get too dry. Now all I can do is sand it lightly--outdoors so I don't fill my lungs with fine powder. Yesterday I got carried away with shaping the wet clay. I ended up with an exciting form which was too fragile to handle. I left it for the rest of the afternoon to harden. By bedtime some areas were firming up nicely while others were still wet. What to do? I gently manouvered it into a plastic bag and taped it up. I'm resisting the urge to check on it this morning. I have to take my car to be serviced today. It will have to wait until I get home. Meanwhile my meals have been relegated to a bowl held in my hand. My kitchen table was already half-covered with stitching stuff. Now there's all sorts of clay stuff filling the rest of the space.
The last time I had clay to work with was in my first year of high school. I was twelve years old. Working with such a different medium now is certainly stretching me. Apart from the novelty of the tasks we've been assigned, there are all sorts of practical challenges. We're supposed to roughly shape the lump and then allow it to dry to just the right stage where it can be carved without making dust. Last week I let the clay get too dry. Now all I can do is sand it lightly--outdoors so I don't fill my lungs with fine powder. Yesterday I got carried away with shaping the wet clay. I ended up with an exciting form which was too fragile to handle. I left it for the rest of the afternoon to harden. By bedtime some areas were firming up nicely while others were still wet. What to do? I gently manouvered it into a plastic bag and taped it up. I'm resisting the urge to check on it this morning. I have to take my car to be serviced today. It will have to wait until I get home. Meanwhile my meals have been relegated to a bowl held in my hand. My kitchen table was already half-covered with stitching stuff. Now there's all sorts of clay stuff filling the rest of the space.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Egg
Our topic in design class on Friday included exploring 3-D structures and ways of depicting them in a 2-dimensional medium. In one exercise we attempted to describe an egg without using shading--or language. The idea was to use the pencil tip to traverse the terrain of the egg's surface--in our imagination of course.
I found myself continuing to think about the form of an egg.
Coincidentally, I have a frittata on my agenda today. I need to re-stock the easy-meal-supply in my fridge. I saved the last egg and blew it out rather than cracking it into the bowl. A good rinse with a couple of syringe-fulls of water and it's ok to keep for a while--though I will need to be careful to put it in a safe place. Now before I spend too much time exploring, I will need to finish off some of the more defined homework exercises, then I can get as engrossed as I like and I'll still be up to date come next Friday.
I found myself continuing to think about the form of an egg.
Coincidentally, I have a frittata on my agenda today. I need to re-stock the easy-meal-supply in my fridge. I saved the last egg and blew it out rather than cracking it into the bowl. A good rinse with a couple of syringe-fulls of water and it's ok to keep for a while--though I will need to be careful to put it in a safe place. Now before I spend too much time exploring, I will need to finish off some of the more defined homework exercises, then I can get as engrossed as I like and I'll still be up to date come next Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
