Geometric Vase

Last semester I took Aegean and Greek Art History. It was... intense. See the flashcards below.


I had never been awake for as many hours straight as I was when I took this final, and my eyes kind of burn when I think about it. I remember the class fondly, though, because it gave me a reason to make this vase:


The one paper for the class was pretty open, so I wrote a how-to on Greek vases from the Geometric Period.

The vase stands at about 18 inches, and is to date the biggest piece I've thrown completely on the wheel. The vases I had made before this are only 8 inches at the tallest,


so the jump in size was a challenge.

I threw three pieces (the neck, the top half of the body, and the bottom half of the body) and attached them together with slip (a mixture of clay and water used to paste pieces together; it has the consistency of hummus) once they had been given a chance to firm up a bit. I ran into a few problems here; I wasn't able to attach the pieces so that they were level, and as a result the vase is actually pretty asymmetrical. I tried to balance it visually by putting it back on the wheel and carving away at the walls to make them even, but I've found that there is just a certain point with clay where you have to stop touching it or you risk breaking it completely.

I borrowed patterns from a few vases that we had studied in class and modified them to fit mine. I used black slip to paint the geometric designs, and because I rushed there are many places where the lines wobble.




A few people told me that they like the imperfections and even prefer them over what could have been very precise lines, but I can hardly look at them without cringing a little bit. I put the vase in another firing to repair a crack, so it is currently locked in a kiln where I don't have to look at it.

I've observed this mentality repeatedly in my classmates and in myself. We all seem to have closets filled with canvases that face the walls, vague lumps of sculptures covered with sheets, whatever medium crushed or smeared on the floors. Oh the plight of the artist.

Anyway, here is a picture of the vase before the firings:


Done.