Lidded Coil Vessel

IDEAS

Perry the Platypus

Perry the Platypus will have a mason jar shape with relief carvings for the eyes and arms. The beak, feet, and tail will be scored and slipped on. The hat will have a feather to act as a knob or his head will have small hairs will create a knob.

The duck will have a pitcher shaped body with relief carvings for the eyes and wings. The beak and feet will be scored and slipped on. The hat will either be a beanie with a Pom-Pom as the knob or a birthday hat with a Pom-Pom as the knob as well.

Duck

What I Chose

I ended up changing my project completely after building the vase. Instead of a duck, I chose to keep the pitcher shaped body. However, I decided to use relief carving to create a plant design starting from the bottom until the neck of the vase. Then, the lid would have a round/ball knob. The plant/vine design would continue around the knob and then a small vine on the knob. I changed the design because I did not like the duck and wanted something that I would want to last longer.

The Process

I rolled many thin coils to start with a wide 5.5 inch base. I kept the coils uniform until about 6 inches tall, then I began to layer the coils inside to create a short, wide neck. After creating the neck, I widened out the top again to end with a wide curved top. For the lid I rolled out a slab, then cut out a circle to fit the top of the vase. Using a water cup, I formed the slab around it to create a bubble effect and let it set. I rolled a small ball with my hands. Once the lid had firmed up, I attached the ball for the handle.

After letting the pot and lid rest, I then carved the plants/vines into the vase. I evenly spaced out nine vines and branched them out as they progressed up the pot. I used a needle tool to carve the stems of the vines and a circular ribbon tool to carve out each leaf. I stopped the carving at the neck of the vase. On the lid and handle, I used the needle tool and ribbon tool to carve out two vines around the handle. Then I used a small ribbon tool and the needle to carve a small branchy vine on the round handle.

Challenges + Struggles

While making the pot, I was challenged with the direction I wanted to go with the design. I built my pot with no issues, but figuring out the shape and learning to trust the process was a bit of a struggle. Eventually, I learned that sometimes I have to pivot because plan A will not always go how I want it to go.