Sample Object Essay

September 20, 2011

Professor Jack Christian

Essay Rewrite

A Piece of Artwork

            In art two it is a requirement to sculpt a mug for an assignment and I remember being envious of the clay that I was molding in my hands.  The clay that was getting stuck between the cracks and crevices on the table.  The clay that had a retched smell and made anyone turn their heads if it got close to their nose.  The clay that no one really wanted to work with because of its texture.   I was envious of that clay because of what it can represent, perfection.  Clay has the ability to be stretched, skewed, and squeezed into any form.  It can be chiseled away at and can be added to, no matter what, clay can be morphed into anything you want it to be.

            I have always hated art classes, I never enjoyed drawing and when I colored I still ended up coloring outside of the lines; so why would I ever take art in high school some may ask.  It is all because of the teacher I had, Mrs. Spencer, she was my teacher for art one and since I enjoyed her as a person I decided to take art two because I knew I would have her.  She was one of those people that I knew I could talk to about anything, she acted like a godmother to me and I loved that about her.  She made me enjoy going to school, therefore she got me into doing clay work because of the projects she chose for the class to do. 

            We did not have many projects dealing with clay because many students did not like doing ceramics since they wanted to draw and use their favorite mediums, which did not include clay.  Many students did not like how ceramics took patience and how long it took to sculpt and how precise they had to be to make sure they did not carve the wrong part off, but I liked the mentality it took to make the perfect sculpture.  Every class that we were working on our mugs all you could hear were students complaining about having to touch the clay or  about the things they were doing wrong, while I was content with everything.   

            Even though I loved Mrs. Spencer I did not like all of the projects she made us do, but the work we had to do made me rethink some aspects in life.  When we worked with clay I loved making many different shapes and designs for a project because it made me feel like there were many different outcomes not only for art work, but for life too.  I always have felt that I need to be perfect and I have to be the best at everything I do, and when I did my ceramics project for Mrs. Spencer I would get different ideas about how I could be sculpted, just like the clay, into anything I want to be. 

            Clay is just dirt that sinks to the bottom  of a stream or a river and sticks and presses together.  Clay is what people in the ancient world built houses, made dishes and plates for food, and statues to praise gods with.  It is crazy to think how far along clay has come, it never was used for an art class to get the basics for ceramics, but now that is considered normal.  Clay is used so much in the everyday life and every piece of art work to me is perfect, and every time I work with clay I become more envious of it.

            The dishes that are mostly bought in stores are made from clay, they had to be designed, executed properly, heated to the correct temperature and glazed.  A lot of work is put into every ceramic piece, but in the end it comes out perfection.  No matter if it is the most aesthetic looking piece of art work there are no rough edges, no cracks, it is extremely smooth, and the molded shape it what the designer wanted it to look like.  I remember when I was thinking of ideas of what shape my mug would be, I thought  of how if I wanted to be the best at things I should focus on who I wanted to be, not what others expected of me.  I could mold myself into the person I want to be, and act like the clay and design myself and make me the perfection that I am striving for.