Project Progress: Bird's Nest Cup

 This post will contain progress pictures and explanations for the Bird's Nest cup that I am creating.

First, I made a sketch of what I wanted my cup to look like. This idea first came up during the crazy eight's exercise that I did at the beginning of the term. I refined this design, since I thought it would be a challenging but interesting cup to make. I used ink pens and watercolour paint for my drawing.

I used the pinching technique to create a small cup as a base. I formed the underside at this stage as well, so it could stand on its own. 

I used a sieve to create the texture, by pushing the clay through it and using a pottery knife and clay slip to attach the pieces of texture to the base. I gently pushed the pieces into the cross hatched parts to make them stick better.

I kept the  cup upside down during the process, making it easier to work around the base. I used the cross hatching tool to create the texture on the inside by slightly dragging it across the clay. I rolled leftover clay into egg shapes to create the 'eggs' on the bottom of the cup. I attached them with clay slip.

I assumed that I could use a coloured glaze to colour the inside of the cup blue, however, these are not available for free. Instead, I went back in with blue clay slip to colour the inside. It then had to be fired again before glazing the inside.

This piece is quite delicate and easily breakable, but I am happy with the results still. The texture is interesting and taught me to be creative with clay and using different tools that are available to me, even if that means using a household item to create a certain texture.