The Clayground is done! I feel like my teammates and I came together to make something fun, funky, and freaking whimsical.

I really enjoyed that the project encouraged me to think outside of the box and to use slips for color on the piece. I’ll be very honest, before this work I was not a huge fan of slips. Mine always came out thin looking and lacked contrast and, overall, I just had a bad time with it. However, after getting the chance to work with them again (and see all the amazing things the class did with it!) they have redeemed themselves enough to become an important part of my next project.

I had a hard time coming up with an idea for this project at first. Initially, I was thinking about doing a set of nesting bowls with the insides glazed to represent different layers of human anatomy. But, that felt boring (and I’m tired of looking at MRIs and x-rays), so I took to instagram for inspiration.

One my classmates suggested checking out Andrew Clark (@andclark on Instagram) and I found inspiration in his locking containers. I’ve drawn a super simplified version of one of his closing mechanisms and made a paper mock up to make sure it works. It does.

The box for the lock will be square with the lid sitting on a ridge so that it lays flush with the top of the sides. The locks will rotate to latch under that ridge keeping the lid in place. The designs on the box and the “combination” to open it are going to be based on my astrological natal chart, giving it a personal touch. While the outside will use colored slip and sgrafitto, I plan to give the inside as much depth and gloss as possible, hopefully with a bit of a galactic feel, to make the inside feel like a reward in itself. I’ll probably end up putting snacks in there when it comes home, but as I’m working on it I might think of something a viewer could take out and hold and enjoy.

Even though I feel like I have a lot planned out for the box, I feel like the plan will continue to evolve to a degree, particularly when it comes to learning how to sgraffito and learning how to make it smooth an intentional. I’m excited to play around with the locking mechanism and see what works best there. Most of all, I’m looking forward to watching the viewers try to crack the code!

I’ve always liked making things. Even when something starts to go wrong with making something, I like finding a solution to the problem. I like figuring out how to get things to go from in my head to something I can see and hold and know that I really made something.

However, since making it off the wait list and onto the roster, my feelings about making things are pretty much summed up by this comic.

So, yeah, making things can sometimes be scary since I have that streak of perfectionism saying that it’s gonna suuucck.

That being said, I’ve really enjoyed this first week to ease into making things again. After going through the standard syllabus day stuff, I spent the first day in the glaze room making a fresh batch of clay. It was nice to do something with my hands and make something that wasn’t art. Making the clay didn’t go perfectly, but it came out in the end.

On the second day of class, we got started on the Make It Work project. I’m not usually a fan of group projects, but so far I feel like this one is going well. I spent the in-class time making a merry-go-round for my group’s “clayground.” Hopefully, it’ll spin. If it doesn’t, I’ll make it work. On Thursday I came back into the studio after remembering another thing that exists in playgrounds, bouncy ponies!

So, I’m back to making things. It’s nice. I’m excited. I’m going to enjoy the process. And, if things go well, I can be proud of something I’ll make.