2 Part Forms

One of our later assignments in the semester was to create forms that were concieved as 2 seperate parts, and then joined together.  From looking at the pieces it is pretty obvious where many of these are joined.  Others it is a little more difficult.  There are several ways to create forms in two parts on the wheel, and I did experiment with a few methods.

I was interested in a certain shape, and these are 3 attempts at getting there, but none of these were my intention.  I have photographed these so that the terrible unevenness of the pieces isn't the first thing you notice.  The method of attachment I used on these forms was not my favorite and I blame it for the horrible irregularities.  The way it works:  throw the bottom form and then allow it to dry to leather hard on the bat.  Then throw the top portion upside down on a different bat.  Use a caliper to insure that the top of the new form is the same diameter as the opening of the first.  You then put the bottom section back on the wheel, take the new form and turn it over on top of the bottom.  Then cut the bat off the first form and use the wheel to join the two pieces together and continue shaping the top section of the piece.  

It is a process I think that reveals all the flaws of your work, especially if things are not centered.  I also had problems with the attachment, because there is not enough resistance at that point to continue shaping the top, thus twisting the whole piece.  Again, not my favorite method.

On to a new method of attachment.  Here, the two pieces are formed and mostly finished separately and allowed to dry to leather hard.  The top is  removed from the bat, slipped and scored and attached to the stem, or base.  Much cleaner, and everything is centered and much more symmetrical.  The rest I combined in this fashion.  The two goblets were conceived as a pair.  The other form really came out nicely... I was thinking of a bulb, with spring shoots coming forth from the base.  I'd like to play more with similar forms, and maybe carve into it and so some hand modeling to finish.

These are fun, right?  It's amazing to me how these forms each develop their own personality.  I was really interested in height - that is, using this process to double the size of form that I could typically throw.  Being petite myself, I feel like was getting a chance to dabble in the tall and thin aesthetic that is not mine.  Elegance is what I was trying to achieve.  Though I was thinking about plants when sketching many of these forms I think these are all more human and feminine in nature.  On many of these I want to just pull the 'waist' tighter, or take off a couple of inches of the 'shoulders' or 'hips'.  

The form on the far right was my favorite.  I wanted to create the sense that this was formed from two slabs of clay, and that line is where they overlap.  There was alot of hand manipulation and carving after the two forms were joined on the wheel.  The one next to it was thrown earlier, a study.  They look as if they are wearing dresses.  The form all the way to the left is solider with its hands at its sides.  I really like the symmetry of the form second to the left.  It stands tall and is the thinnest - good proportions.