Cristina Carvalho

     Without art, how could someone express themselves and enjoy simply making something beautiful? I always liked art and my freshman year I discovered how much I love ceramics and making art and simply working with clay. Ceramics gives me a chance to be creative in a different way and work with my hands. Also there is so much room to experiment! Whether it is making a form that I have never tried before like a prism, or seeing what happens when you put a piece on the actual grill or trying different glazes. I love experimenting because I am a very curious person and being able to see what happens when I mix different glazes or try a different technique to decorate my pieces is amazing.

      I can’t make art pieces without having ideas and inspirations. For each project I try to think of a concept to base my project on. For example, I wanted to base my oil and vinegar project on fire vs. space. So I would find images that I think would best showcase that idea. Then I would think of what glazes would look best. Sometimes I know what glazes I want to use, but not the shape or form of the piece. There are times when I don’t have an idea of what I want to do, so I google different shapes, landscapes, or any object that will grab my attention and gives me inspiration.

      This website includes pieces that I have created in intermediate and advanced clay. You will see a difference between the two. On my advanced clay page and subpages you will see that I have decided to definitely challenge myself with forms I have never tried before and have increased experimentation with glazes and/or other ways to decorate the pieces.