Ceramic Class: Response To Coil Piece Assignment

Response to Coil Piece Assignment
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I have always been a big fan of practical lessons. I usually feel that practicals are the actual embodiment of learning, especially in art, science and technical subjects. Therefore, when this experiment came up, I was more than motivated to carry it out to completion. I was supposed to make two 12 inch clay coils. This was to be part of my learning sessions, even though I took it more like some recreational activity. That is just how much I enjoyed it. Perhaps the driving force behind my zeal to do the experiment was the fact that I was going to create something, out of ordinary ‘mud.’ And not just something, but something very beautiful and artistic.
I mustered up my energy and gave it a go. I first of all had to assemble all the necessities which basically were a 6kg clay mass, some water, a wire tool, a working surface and some plastic sheet. I kneaded the clay which was placed on top of the working surface. As I did this, I occasionally removed some impurities like pebbles and grass in order to ensure that all which remained was fine clay. I also kept on spraying some water on the clay to ensure that it was moist enough. This took me quite some time and lots of energy. I had to take a break afterwards to ensure I didn’t suffer inconsistency in my model. Unfortunately, I forgot to cover the clay with the plastic sheet which made the clay gradually dry in some portions.
My few minutes break ended up being a whole half an hour ordeal. I took up on checking a few finished samples ,just for the inspiration of it, before then embarking on making the coils. I used a wire tool to divide the mass of clay into two. Each of them was 3kg. I took the first mass and began rolling it on the table with both hands back and forth over the table to create a coil. I repeated this process for around ten minutes only to discover that the coil kept on cracking and breaking in different areas especially those that had dried up. I tried spraying the ‘magic’ water but no improvement was visible. An attempt on the other mass of clay also proved futile yielding similar results. Finally, I threw in the towel and decided to discard the clay and start the process afresh.
This time I discovered though that I needed to make a few adjustments in order to have a perfect finished product. The first and most important change needed was that of my mixing ratio. I also decided to have a variation in the process itself. Instead of kneading the 6kg clay on the table as a mass, I used a wire tool and cut the clay into two portions. I then separately kneaded each of the clay masses and did so meticulously taking out all impurities. Any time I was not working on a portion I ensured it was covered with a plastic sheet.
I took the first portion of clay, rolled it with both hands on the table back and forth over the table and in five minutes’ time, I had my 12 inch coil. I repeated the process in making the second coil in a record three minutes. In as much as my first attempt to make the coil was quite frustrating, the second was quite thrilling! This was the first step in this fascinating experiment. I was now to use the clay coils to model obje...