Vessel
To create my vessel, I chose to use clay. There are so many possibilities with clay and I find it easy and fun to work with... until this project began to unravel. I thought it would be cool to have a vessel you can put a candle under to illuminate the inside. When I began this project I didn't know where to start. I decided to mold the clay around a bowl and then attach the 2 halves when both were complete. When I tried to peel the clay off the bowl, it wouldn't work. I became very impatient with it after trying for a day or two to get it off without ripping. I had to resort to cutting it off and starting over. After I got the old clay off, I again molded around the bowl (using the old clay and patching it together), but put newspaper underneath to ensure it not sticking. I was able to get both halves off and attach them successfully; although I never got it to look exactly like I had originally hoped. The shape looked more like a football and I had to keep patching and pressing it until it looked somewhat decent. It got to the point where I said it was fine and had it fired in the kiln. After it was fired I decided to go with glaze because it would hide any major imperfections and would look a lot better. I wanted a bright red glaze, but the closest I could fine was a orange coral color. I put it on and put many coats of it too; I really wanted it to be the darkest it could. After the glazed piece came out of the kiln I was amazed! It was the color I had originally wanted, and it actually looked round! I took it home and I am so happy it matches and looks great in my living room, just like I wanted.
