Soft Slab Construction

The first thing we had to do was make two different soft slab mugs. To do this, we had to roll out the clay with a certain thickness and make 90° corners. The next step is to make any kind of designs on the outside of the mug. Once my mug was decorated, I wrapped a tennis ball container in newspaper—this was necessary to get the cylinder figure. I then made the bottom by measuring around the cylinder. All that was to do was slip and score the bottom to the cylinder. If I could change one thing it would be to add an interesting way to cover up the seam.

The second thing we had to do was make a platter using the same technique. First I rolled out the clay and cut out the platter shape out of styrofoam. Then I tapped the styrofoam on the table to make the clay sink into the mold. I found out it doesn't take much for it to fall. After it was bisque fired, I glazed it with a green glaze. I really like the color choice, but if I could go back I would make sure the platter was smooth all the way around before letting it get bisque fired.