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My Capstone Project Conclusion

These styles of Greek pottery developed over hundreds of years and vary greatly. Orientalizing style pottery can hardly even be recognized as Greek to the untrained eye. They do share some similarities, like their uniquely Greek red-orange clay color and intricate designs, but they really do encompass a vast range of shapes and aesthetics. However, the strongest unifier of them all is their exquisite beauty and unparalleled level of craftsmanship. These ancient pots were made by hand two thousand years ago, and yet I still had difficulty reproducing them with today’s advancements. Their success is undeniable. These Greek pots have withstood centuries, and still rival modern day art. It is my sincere hope that this information and these images give you a better understanding of the artistic achievements of the ancient Greeks. And going forward, not only do I hope that these achievements are not forgotten, but that they are embraced and used as inspiration for future centuries to come.

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Here’s the final video I made do display at ArtsFest. It’s quite mesmerizing.

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White Ground Lekythos

This style was the latest of the styles I researched. It persisted through the end of the time period I worked with. White-ground style was an innovative adaptation to red and black-figure. The pot was painted white and black, and the figure was carved out to appear red on the white background. Other colors were also sometimes added to the white, which provided a neutral colored canvas. I attempted to make a white-ground lekythos, which was a small pitcher for oils (most usually olive oil or expensive scented oils).

I am really happy with how this piece turned out. I really tried hard to capture the complex shape of a lekythos and I feel like I did it justice. I am hesitant to carve a design into it for the same reason as I left my black-figure amphora blank, fear of messing it up. But I think I will try, an see how it turns out. Fingers crossed.

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Black Figure Amphora

This was the rise on the type of design that comes to mind when one thinks of ancient Greek pottery. It consisted of red clay pots painted mostly black, with a large section left unpainted for a scene. The scenes would be painted on the red background of the clay, with the figures painted in black. These pots had minimal other designs, with most attention focused on the main scene. I attempted to make a black figure amphora, which was a vessel for storing wine.

I went for a more simplified design with this piece, focusing less on the scene and more on the overall shape of the pot. While I do wish I had carved a scene into it, I know my limitations and would rather not ruin a nice piece with a failed carving attempt. At some point I will attempt to make a fully realistic black-figure pot, but that time has yet to come. 

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Orientalizing Oinochoe

For this style I’m going to summarize all my information into one post. I have already covered that an oinochoe is a pitcher for pouring wine. At the time the orientalizing style originated, Greeks were beginning to expand their trade South and East. These new cultures influenced their art, especially Egypt and Assyria (in Mesopotamia). Their pottery took on a more Egyptian look, featuring palmettes, lions, and sphinxes. The shape of their pottery also diverged from the norm, with animal heads replacing the spouts of pots. I attempted to make an orientalizing style oinochoe with a lions head (pictured above).

I’m pretty happy with how this pot turned out. The lions head looks a little lopsided from the front, but then again so does the face in the pot I’m basing this design off of. I still want to add more designs to the friezes on the main body, so I’ll get to that sometime before ArtsFest.But all in all I’m pretty happy with this pot, hopefully it doesn’t explode.

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These are my final images for my fired Red-figure Kylix. This is probably my favorite piece I made out of the series, despite its relatively small size. I think my favorite style of ancient Greek pottery is red-figure and I am really happy with how the designs turned out on this one.

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This is a photo of my finished protogeometric oinochoe. I am very happy with how this turned out and I feel like it really captures the rougher and hand-painted feel of the protogeometric style. 

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I attended a show of Anastasia done by the Truly Horrific's Performance company. They are a small group created by high schoolers at Cedar Lane Church. My sister was the assistant director to the show and also played various small roles. The show was cute, quirky, and fun, as are all the shows this group does. It was a wonderful (and long!) production, and my friend and I were laughing and smiling the whole way through.

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First Look Feedback

During my first look presentation I shared with the class my goal of having six Greek pots of different styles. I described how I would display them at ArtsFest with a descriptive poster behind them. I also showed my process binder, which contained in-progress images of my pots and research I had done. The class gave me a strong suggestion of making a video of my process to add to my display at ArtsFest. That was a very good suggestion. They also gave lots of support and encouragement for my project, which was very motivating.

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I recently attended the Take The Stage performance company’s Connected roadshow (not to be confused with their Connected performance that I attended earlier this semester). This performance was a different event than than the previous once I wrote about, taking place at Leisure World and consisting of songs from throughout the company’s history. My sister was again performing, and this show focused more on the musical components of the songs as opposed to the dancing and theatre elements of their previous performance. The show was entertaining and cute (featuring mostly the younger members of the group), and the money made was kindly donated to the Lions Club of Maryland.

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I recently attended a charity fundraiser for the No One Left Behind Foundation. The event was held at my old high school, Walter Johnson, and featured speeches and short videos about the work this organization does. It’s goal is to assist former Iraqi military translators who worked for our government in immigrating the the U.S. to escape the danger of remaining in the middle east. A very motivating speech was given by the founder of the organization, who raised money to help his friend come to the U.S., and then with the help of his friend began to do the same for others.

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Second Look Presentation Feedback

I gave my Second Look presentation for my Capstone on Thursday. It went well and everyone seemed excited about my project. They liked that I took them up on their previous suggestion to make a video of my throwing process. For the second time they recommended holding an auction for my work to make money. Now all I have left is to finish my last pots, get them fired, and digitize the final results for artsfest and the scholars showcase.

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Protogeometric Oinochoe

Oinochoai were pitchers in Ancient Greece used for pouring wine. The consisted of a handle, a long neck, and rounded acorn-shaped base. They could be quite large and were held with two hands.

I am going to attempt to make an oinochoe in the protogeometric style, the oldest of the styles I am studying. The protogeometic style had very simple and basic geometric designs, such as lines, zigzags, waves, and concentric circles. I will probably try making my oinochoe in one piece and then attach the handle. We’ll see how it goes!

Sources:

Image 1: https://www.pinterest.com/beyondtheindigo/iv-ancient-greek-vases/

Image 2: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/430093833142936509/

Image 3: http://apd.farli.org/the-aegean/dark-age-pottery/proto-geometric-pottery/jug-1

Image 4: https://readtiger.com/wkp/en/Pottery_of_ancient_Greece

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Red-Figure Kylix

My finished red-figure kylix. Still have to do serious photos of it once it’s fired but for now its all done. Everything went according to my design and I’m really happy with how it turned out.