This week I decided that I was not going to follow any instructions on how to make a new clay cane. I decided I was going to try and see what kind of skills I have learned since I have started this project, and push my limits and do something on my own. I wanted to make a cane that was a swirl pattern for this weeks project. Since I was not using any instructions I had to think about how I would go about making the swirl. I thought for awhile on how to construct a clay cane that would look like a swirl and realized that if I picked a few colors and flattened them with my pasta tool and layered them on top of each other and then rolled it so it was formed into a cane it would probably cut and look like a swirl.
I started by flattening each individual clay color with the pasta machine. You would think that the pasta machine would be very simple and it would flatten the clay perfectly in one try. That was definitely not the case. The pasta machine has 9 different settings, where 9 is the thickest setting and 1 is the thinnest setting. I wanted each layer to be very thin where each layer would be the thickness of a number 2 setting. I learned that you can not just start with setting number 2 you have to first put the clay through setting 9 then you have to keep folding it so it does not dry out and keep putting the clay through all of the settings until you reach setting 2. I did this process with each color I used and then layered each color on top of each other. Then I took my clay razor and cut the sides so there were no stray ends and the clay was a perfect rectangle. Then I rolled the clay so it was a cane that I was able to cut. Finally it was time for me to see if my project turned out how I hoped with out using directions. I cut the cane and it turned out exactly how I expected. That was a very exciting moment for me because I realized that I was getting better with making clay canes and was able to experiment and have a success.
This weeks experience reminded me of a section in the book Handmade Nation, where Jenine Bressner shares her glass bead work. This article or section in Handmade Nation came to mind because she really reinforces the idea that it is good and okay to experiment with art forms that you can wear. It also came to my mind because she talks about how art galleries can sometimes be intimidating because the art is “put on a pedestal,” and people tend to get this feeling that they cannot make it. That was kind of the feeling I got whenever I would try to attempt a new project where I was following directions and shown the end result. I felt like there was no way that I was going to make this project look like the picture. This week since I did not follow directions and did my own thing showed me that there is nothing to be afraid of and that if you want to do something you can, and that I made what I wanted to make!
Next week you can expect me to try and attempt a more difficult clay project, where I will probably follow a set of instructions and hopefully keep succeeding.
Source:
Handmade Nation The rise of DIY, Art, Caft, and Design by Faythe Levine and Courtney Heimerl
Article: Page 22-25 By Jennine Bressner
Here is one layer of clay going through the pasta machine
This is when I started to roll the finished layered clay into a cane
Here is a sliced piece of the cane. You can see it looks like a swirl
Here are a variety of different beads I made with the different swirl canes I made.
Great reflections and documentation, Erin. I like how you're learning to make the process your own, and drawing on both your experience and course readings to think about your work.
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