Unit 4

Drawing of monster by third grader

Monster Project

For this project we turned third graders' monster drawings into sculptures.

Plan:

-wedge clay

-form body and head together

-build legs and have animal standing

-attach wings

-add final details

-fire and glaze

Reflection:

I was unsuccessful in getting the animal to stand up so I decided to make it sitting down. This made it much more structurally sound and probably helped with attaching the wings as well. It was hard to make a consistent fur texture and trying to make the tiger appear fluffy or fuzzy, a defining feature of tigers. I think that the eyes and nose are little too big for the size of the head, but they get the point across. The most challenging part of the project though was attaching the wings. They kept almost cracking off the back. I had to use clay to support the wings, making it hard to paint the wings and back, as the supports were in the way. If I were to make this project again I would want to make the facial features match the size of the head better and find a way to make the sculpture appear more fuzzy.

Alebrije

I made my alebrije based on the Pallid bat, a key stone species that is native to most the western U.S. and parts of Mexico. It is a keystone species because it eats insects that can spread diseases, such as mosquitoes.

Plan:

- wedge clay

- make a ball and hollow out using a loop tool

- score and slip pieces back together to form hollow ball

- make the head using the same method describe above

- cut hole in body and head and score together

- form ears and make cut in head to form mouth

- use wire to make holes for wings and feet

- using a small loop tool and needle tool make fur texture

Reflection:

I think that the sculpture part of this project is done well, as it mimics the shape of the bat well. I am excited to add wire and paper wings. I want it to be able to hang so it appears as if it is flying, but it may be too heavy.

More coming soon!

Projects coming soon!

More projects with plans and reflections will be here soon.

I am still working on my lidded box and my series of 4. I hope to do my series of 4 on the wheel, but it may take too much time to learn to be able to complete this project.