inspiration:
Current Artist Inspired
I chose Hayao Miyazaki as my artist for this piece. Miyazaki is one of the directors, and a co-founder, of Studio Ghibli, and has helped to create many incredible films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited away, and Ponyo, which is the film I chose to take inspiration from for this piece. The base of the butter tray is inspired by both the fish-shaped waves that Ponyo runs on in the film, and the dark waves that her dad is able to summon. I did this by cutting out rounded wave shapes, and making them dark blue. I planned on painting the lid of the tray after the jellyfish that we see in the beginning of the film. One struggle I faced during this process was the top of the tray breaking right as I was preparing it to be fired. Also, the base of the tray broke at one point, though luckily I was able to fix it. Sadly, after being fired one of the corners broke off of the base on the way home.
Donation Piece
These earrings were incredibly frustrating to make. the tails broke so many times, and they were so difficult to make, especially considering there were two of them so they had to match. I made the first manta ray and it went through the kiln with no issues- I sanded it to make it smooth, and the tail ended up snapping, but that was an easy fix. The second one was not so lucky. Its wing and tail broke off, and I couldn't find them anywhere so I had to sculpt new ones. Then I had to paint, and repaint, over and over. I added a design using small dots made from Liquid Leaf, then sealed them. The tails did break a couple times actually attaching the earring hooks, but I think they turned out great, all things considered. I don't know if I would ever attempt making these again though.
Final
The theme I chose for my final is the Greek myth of Persephone, where she is kidnapped and taken to the underworld by Hades and tricked into eating pomegranate seeds, which forced her to return to the underworld for a few months every year. The myth explains that Persephone's return to the underworld each year is what causes the seasons to change, as Persephone's mother, goddess of the harvest, grows depressed when her daughter is away and doesn't let anything grow, causing winter.