Pat March Slab Building

Pat March hand builds much of her sculptural ware using slabs.

The following images show how this is done. These images were prepared for display during the DPG exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre in 2011.

I first roll out the clay between battens to maintain an even thickness.

The shape of the vessel is then marked out and cut out through two layers, keeping the left-overs for sides, legs and decoration.

The pieces are then laid out to become leather-hard.

I add the curved side strip to one face, scratching and wetting the surfaces so that they bond and smoothing in a thin coil of clay to reinforce the joint.

Using scrunched newspaper to support it I then add the second face in a similar way.

Finally I fix on the legs and decorate the front and back faces, usually in a way inspired by coastal geology, and, when sufficiently dry, stand it up making sure it is vertical

The finished piece, drying before the bisque firing.