Green pigment + clay = hard to see without glaze
- I tried to extrude the vase shape without any support -> not really stable, clay was too heavy and
it wasn't possible to go higher
- final outcome with glaze turned out quite nice, however because I dipped the vase into glaze, you could't see
small details anymore

Pink and purple pigment = worked well already while extruding, so I had bigger control over the colours
- Glass wasn't good material for support, because clay stucked to the material
- I glazed those two vases at the same time, so unfortunately I also dipped this one, which hid a lot of details

Extruding on glass

Extruding on paper

Extruding on paper worked better than on glass, however when I tried to take out the the paper the vase collapsed, because it was too fragile.

- I glazed a piece to see how the colours would turn out

Before firing

After firing, transparent glaze

Extruded samples, glazed

- timing is the key (20/30/40/50 minutes)
-> experiments with different timing/pigment mixing

- I tried to make Papier-mâché technique in order to extrude easily around in a future shape I would want
-> this experimented did not work out well as the extruded clay did not really stick to each other and broke after drying

My project is inspired by piping technique, which I started investigating before mid terms through 3d printing. However 3d printer would not allow me to focus on the decorative part, but more the structural one, because of this reason I decided to continue with hand extruding. Firstly, I focused on making my own tip for the piping bag, however it was very hard for me to get the clay through the tip, then I experimented with different piping tips and bags, over clay extruder. In the end the most interesting for me was the traditional piping technique, because of the sharp details in extruded clay.

My central questions were ,,How can I use the beauty of piping technique to create something timeless and not kitsch? How can I change the colour of clay to get different shades and colours already before glazing? How can I make useful object out of decorative technique?’'

Through this project I learnt a lot about ceramics. Patience is the key in mould making. I experimented with small mould which I made few weeks beforehand to understand how I can mix pigments with clay and pour it in a perfect way and how many minutes I eventually have to wait to get really thick walls. (6 hours is the answer) Another surprising and interesting experiment was for me about how to mix clay with pigments. I wasn’t sure if my samples are gonna turn out right, because my first try out was made out of green pigment, which did not coloured my clay at all. However to my surprise after second firing with transparent glaze, the colour pop up. In theory 20% of pigment should be enough, however I believe I used in my project way more pigment. My extruding process was a lot about mixing water, pigments and clay, however I figured out that the best clay to use is the throwing one with very fine chamotte. My small samples are made from black clay, which had super nice texture, however I wanted to mix colours into the clay, so I had to search for similar properties in white clay. First two vases are made with not so fine clay (I believe 0,2% chamotte), which made me struggle with extruding the clay as the small pieces sometimes got stuck. Last thing I am taking with me from this project is structured thinking. I had to understand what works with what. What difference in stability makes different range of water in clay, how pigment affect drying time, how I have to think beforehand in my process and with every step. (For example making support layer for my vases, so they do not collapse while drying out of mould - I realised this after my first vase collapsed)

Essential part was forming all this material knowledge into an object. I wanted to make something high with strong association to the original piping technique, however I did not want to make kitsch object. When I was thinking about properties of my extruded samples I could not think about anything else than fragile and that it looks nice. However I came to conclusion that the beauty is the main property because it is timeless. I experienced many times that I did not want to eat something which was served to me because it looked more like an art than a food and I felt bad for eating such a masterpiece, so I do see quality in the eternity. 
In the end I inspired by cake layering and I made a vase which you are in the end able to stick on top of each other. Each vase represent a layer of cake. However cake also contains cream or jam in between each layer, so I played with the thought and came to conclusion it could be interesting to make a circle which will be also functional in two different ways. Firstly, it can improve stability in between the layers, but also if we turn around the vase it provides stable holder and works like a coffee table.

The result are 3 circles and 4 vases, which cooperate together. Together the vases are multifunctional object in one way they work like vase and upside down it works like a coffee table, by sticking vase into vase you can modify your own vase. Unfortunately because of time pressure I was able to fire only 2 out of the 4 vases and non of them is glazed, so colours you can see are just pigments mixed with clay, expect to one vase which was made without pigments. Each vase is also better version of the previous one as with every hour I realised how I could improve something. 

If I should fit my project into a practise, then it would be autonomous. The vase was inspired by my own fascination in baking and colours.

Doodle of ideas

Mood board for photoshoot

Firing temperature 1060

Firing temperature 1260

Colour difference by changing the firing temperature

Bisque fire

For the final object I worked with pigments in bold colours: Indian blue, Rose, Rust brown and Chrome green

This was my very first cast of the big mould, as you can see 40 minutes did not make the vase very thick, so in the end
I decided to wait 6 hours per one cast

I had to make a support for the vases when I pulled them out of the mould as they were unstable. (That is a main reason, why my first vase is a bit deformed)

Wonderlust