Artefact Presentation

For my artefact, I chose to make a prop from a fictional novel, the prop was a large pot almost the height of a man, with 8 small pottery elephants on chains coming out from the top. Because the full size would not be realistically achievable, I decided to make a scaled down version. I had originally wanted to make the pot on an actual pottery wheel, but I discovered that the shape would have been too complex to make with the limited time I had, as well as with the type and amount of clay I had to use. It took me about a week to learn how to properly throw a pot, and I learned that there were still several more steps involved in post processing before even the first firing. In the end, I had to construct the pot from papier mache and paint it to resemble a glazed Han Dynasty pot. Although the project did not go the way I had originally hoped, I picked up a new skill in pottery-making, and got the chance to problem-solve the best way of making pot without the help of machines and glaze. I also learned a lot through researching Han Dynasty ceramics, and my favourite was learning about the beautiful cerulean glaze that is iconic to pottery from Asia. If given more time, I would definitely have wanted to take my pottery journey further, to try out how the material affects the shape of the pots and the various finishings. I would also have liked to explore different designs on the pot, like a more intricated painted pattern before firing the pot.