Celia Cramer

Artist Statement | I had planned to develop some new ideas for plant pots during July. Then I heard about the Daily Creative Challenge and knew it would be an opportunity to push myself a bit. As it takes weeks to make and fire a ceramic pot, I decided to present my daily response to the prompt words as raw clay forms. I set myself an additional aim of utilising as many different ceramic making and decorating techniques as I can. 

In the first few days, I found the Creative Challenge quite a bit harder than I had anticipated. Presenting unfired work meant I could not use glazes to express my ideas, and I had to vary the clays and underglazes I might normally use to adapt to unfired colours. Working with raw clay also meant I needed to plan each day carefully to give the clay time to harden enough to take the day's image.

In the second week, however, I got into a rhythm. I looked forward each morning's prompt word and all the brainstorming and planning that followed. By the final week I had developed a pretty smooth method to progress ideas to reality.

Looking back, I can see a progression in my work over the month. Like the little plant that was present in my images each day, my ideas and skills grew. I became a bit more experimental. I began to be a little less hard on myself... to accept that some ideas just don't work and that's OK. I tried several new techniques during the month and came up with some pleasing ideas. I am excited to incorporate these into my future work. 

Making a record my progress over the month has an additional reward. I am an emerging ceramic artist and still developing a portfolio that represents my style and interests. So, the images I took during the Challenge are a great resource.

Finally, I loved the way that the participants supported each other with likes and positive comments. Although I have not met any of them in person, I feel quite connected to our cohort.

Overall, I am both delighted and exhausted by the Daily Creative Challenge 2025!

 

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