Dino Decor
Lucy Smith
Class of 2025
I created Dino Decor because I wanted to make some uniquely designed items that are still practical for everyday use. The idea of creating a dinosaur theme appealed to me because it allowed for me to experiment with surface design and handbuilding. Carving, molding, and creating texture with layered glaze were a few things that I incorporated into my designs.
Class of 2025
I created Dino Decor because I wanted to make some uniquely designed items that are still practical for everyday use. The idea of creating a dinosaur theme appealed to me because it allowed for me to experiment with surface design and handbuilding. Carving, molding, and creating texture with layered glaze were a few things that I incorporated into my designs.
The dinosaur that the mug and the two small plates are based on is the Stegosaurus, which has scales that go from its head to the end of its tail. For the mug, I threw the base and then attached the handle on which I had scored and slipped the handbuilt scales. For the volcano, I threw a cylinder and trimmed it to create the cone shape. I made the plates by cutting circles out of a large slab of clay and then scoring and slipping scales onto the edges of them. I wanted the volcano to have a base of deep brown with bright orange and red lava dripping down from the opening in the top. I achieved this by marking out where I wanted the drips to be and painting the base color around them, then filling them in with the lava colors.
For the volcano, I threw a cylinder and trimmed it to create the cone shape. I made the plates by cutting circles out of a large slab of clay and then scoring and slipping scales onto the edges of them. I wanted the volcano to have a base of deep brown with bright orange and red lava dripping down from the opening in the top. I achieved this by marking out where I wanted the drips to be and painting the base color around them, then filling them in with the lava colors.
The meteors were the trickiest items to make. First, I weighed equal pieces of clay with the scale so they would be consistent. Then, to make sure they didn’t explode in the kiln, I made a hole in the tops of each one and scooped out most of their insides to create a hollow ball. Then, I used the back of a teaspoon to mold craters onto the surface. Next, I had to make something to hang them on. I bent some pieces of thick wire to create a frame which I hung the meteors on. I found some rectangular pieces of wood and nailed them together to create a frame that the wire could be attached to. It was fun to work with different materials to create my displays and broaden my horizons in terms of doing other techniques that weren’t wheel throwing.