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Tyson Best
Ceramics 3
Semester 1 Final:
Bob Ross was a famous painter and tv host, famous for his calm demeanor and iconic TV show The Joy of Painting. He was raised in Orlando, Florida, and left school in the 9th grade. At 18, he joined the Air Force, where he served for many years. While in the military, Bob Ross discovered painting and took his first art class at a United Service Organization in the early 1960s. To earn extra money, he worked as a bartender and sold his paintings to tourists. After retiring from the Air Force in 1981, Ross began studying under Bill Alexander, the artist who inspired his painting techniques. Eventually, Ross started his own show on PBS, where he taught millions of viewers how to paint landscapes.
For my construction, I started with a flat, round disc as the base. Using slabs of clay, I carved out mountain ranges and shaped them to give the piece depth. For the house, I made four small slabs for the walls and two slightly longer ones for the roof. To avoid a flat look, I curved the roof upwards. During the glazing process, one of the mountains broke, but I was able to repair it with multiple layers of glaze, and it stayed intact after firing. This image interested me because of the large snowy mountain range which goes well with the small illuminated house.
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Overall, this project was rushed, and with more time, I could have improved the scaling by making the house smaller and adding another mountain range. I would also focus on creating smoother, more defined details, like the windows, and possibly add 3D elements such as miniature windows and doors. Additionally, I would be more careful during glazing to prevent breaking the piece. Despite these challenges, I am proud of capturing the snowy effect and learning more about clay construction and glazing techniques.
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