The Little Blue Shoes

"Trompe l'oeil" said our Professor. We were to make ceramic shoes of a pair of shoes that we owned. Not only did these shoes have to look realistic, but they also had to have a story behind it.

This was my story:

These shoes represent change and growing up. I bought these shoes when I first moved to the United States, that in itself was a major change for me. Also these were the first "legit" high heels I ever bought. I can't believe I thought these were "high" heels, now whenever I wear them, they feel short. I just love the memories these shoes bring. I wore them whenever I sang in the choir at my church and I wore them for my first job interview. These shoes have gone on many adventures with me which is one of the reasons why (if you look closely) the heels look a bit battered because that's how they are in real life.

When I first started making these shoes, I was so frustrated with them. They were not the same size as the originals and if just looked like a kindergarten project. I was so frustrated, in fact, that I was about to smash my shoes and just start all over, but I decided to stick with it. After I added the details, it actually started to look like a shoe and before I knew it, I was proud of my little shoes.

My shoes were originally black, but I decided to go with a more light and whimsical color just because I could. The shoes also looked "girly", so I knew I wanted a bright color. I think these colors turned out quite well. It is quite nerve racking when choosing colors because a person never knows exactly what it is going to look like until it's out of the kiln. The final touch was the gold for the buckles. After seeing everything together, I am so thankful to see how all of my hard work paid off.