I have created the symbol of 'Hei Matau' of New Zealand out of clay. This symbol represents good luck and safe travel across water.
The elements and principles that are most obvious in my work are the sharp edges in the hook and the very outside curve because at first it curves to the right and then it turns to the left and the way it changes direction makes it look very natural.
The media that my art work is created from is clay. First I prepared a thin sheet of clay so that I could trace my symbol and then I cut it out once I thought it was the right shape. After I had a thin symbol I used a skewer to cut different pieces out of the clay that would fit the clay and placed them on using water to make it look natural and to hide all the creases.
The big idea behind my art work is that it represents a different type of good luck. The reason for me making this art work was because I wanted to create something representing New Zealand and because New Zealand is surrounded by water I thought this would be the perfect symbol.
My goal as an artist was to have a different experience and find out what I liked to play around with and what I was good at. This assessment helped me to do that because in my trials of plaster I found out that I did like carving plaster but I did also like sculpting things out of clay. My overall thoughts of my art work are all positive because at first I was not sure if it would turn out all that well but to my surprise I thought that it came out really good.
