Category: Pottery

LO: 1

This year of pottery has been an excellent activity that has exposed me to new experiences and allowed me to develop skills that I had not previously thought possible. When I first began the activity I was unsure of the challenges that I would face, however, I knew that these challenges would allow me to gain new skills through the struggles. Looking back on the year I find that there were many times when I had an ambitious idea for a project, yet lacked the necessary skills to execute on it. But it was through this lack of knowledge that I was able to reflect on myself and improve this weakness to work towards personal growth.

One such project was the construction of a pot with additional parts to it. I wanted to make a pot that had handles attached to it and other clay designs to the body of the pot. Initially, I was unsure of how I would attach the extra parts to the main body without having it break when going in the kiln. However, I learned of a skill called scoring that allowed extra pieces to be attached to a larger piece of clay without breaking in the kiln.

Going into the project I was aware of my weaknesses in pottery. Yet I was able to identify this weakness and work towards improving in through the process of this project. I believe that this project is a good representation of my approach towards pottery this year. While in the beginning, I was a bit unsure of my ability regarding pottery, I was able to properly identify my strengths and weaknesses which helped me work towards self-improvement and personal growth.

LO: 2

These initial weeks of pottery have certainly been challenging, however, they have also been an excellent learning experience and provided me with an interesting and engaging art activity to look forward to in the week. Having very little experience prior to joining the activity, I was prepared to encounter a steep learning curve. In the beginning, I found it quite difficult to shape the clay into the visual image I had in my head. However, as I continued to attend the sessions I have found myself learning more about the techniques of pottery and have been able to undertake more challenging projects. Recently, I decided to make a more complex clay pot than the usual design I was used to. The pot I had made had a lip at the edge to pour water out rather than being a simple cup-shaped opening. Doing this proved to be quite challenging in the initial attempts, but I was persistent in this task and kept trying. Eventually, I was able to overcome this challenge in this fairly unfamiliar activity.

I do not have any art subjects in my IB package, however, being a part of this activity allows me to develop my skills in the art and gives me a deeper understanding of the processes included in creating a piece of art. As I continue to attend these sessions I find myself continually being faced with new challenges that allow me to try new things and practice perseverance. I believe that this activity will allow me to approach things differently and make me more confident when I am faced with the inevitable challenges that I will encounter in the coming years.