Design of All Sorts » Adventures in Clay

Self-Realized Queen of Hearts

A four-minute time lapse consisting of a month of photos documenting my first life-size bust, published February 2010.

The assignment was to create a self-portrait and experiment with the form. We had to do a surface treatment consisting of underglazes and/or colored slips at the greenware stage.

For more information about my process, see my photodocumentation.

Music: "Sad Lisa" by Cat Stevens. Created using a Panasonic DMC-ZS3 and Windows Live Movie Maker by Binaebi Akah on a Windows 7 x64b machine.

Design Rationale of the Lazarus Machine

An informally narrated rationale behind the styling and glazing of The (Steampunk Jello Cupcake) Lazarus Machine, published December 2009.

The Lazarus satisfies my ceramics assignment where I was given the task of inventing a sculpture meant to serve a specific food. In this case, it's supposed to serve Jell-O cupcakes and Jell-O jigglers.

The Lazarus takes inspiration from Steampunk and the 1995 Casper movie with Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, where there existed a Lazarus machine which would transform ghosts into humans. My machine is meant to transform cupcakes into Jell-O cupcakes, a.k.a. delicious.

Interested in my process? For more information about my process, see my photodocumentation.

Created using a Flip Ultra and Windows Movie Maker by Binaebi Akah on a Windows Vista x64b machine.

Glazing the Lazarus Machine

This is a eight-minute time lapse of two hours of video recorded over a span of six hours in the studio, published December 2009.

Music: "You've Got Mail Suite" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by George Fenton. Created using a Flip Ultra and Windows Movie Maker by Binaebi Akah on a Windows Vista x64b machine.

Sculpting the Frog Prince

This video is the half-hour process condensed into two minutes. Halfway through sculpting the puckering face of the prince, I leave the table to grab my maquette because I'm having trouble getting the face just how I want it.

Sadly, the maquette broke soon after this video was taken. We all mourn his loss, but rejoice that his face has been captured in the sculpture-sized version.

For more information about my process, see my photodocumentation.

Music: "Lime in de Coconut" by Kermit the Frog & the Muppets. Created using a Kodak DX6340 Zoom and Windows Movie Maker by Binaebi Akah on a Windows Vista x64b machine.

Clothing the Frog Prince

When I'm in the creative zone, there's little you can do to pull me out. As part of my independent study in the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University, I spent approximately four hours working on my latest piece, tentatively titled "The Frog Prince."

Music: "Simple Pleasures" by Bobby McFerrin. Created using a Kodak DX6340 Zoom and Windows Movie Maker by Binaebi Akah on a Windows Vista x64b machine.

Building the Frog Prince's Main Squeeze

This time-lapse represents two hours of video spanning three hours of studio work, condensed into five minutes.

Music: "Can't Fight this Feeling" by REO Speedwagon. Created using a Flip Ultra and Windows Movie Maker by Binaebi Akah on a Windows Vista x64b machine.