Soft Slab

Glazes used: C-49 HF-26 SM-27

For this project, we had to use the slab method to make a set of 4 cups. I decided to make 4 mugs that slightly varied in height for my set. I made my mugs using the slab method, and the materials I used were clay, a tennis ball container for the body of the mugs, and glaze.

This work was composed by first making a slab and cutting it into the dimension I wanted for each mug, then I wrapped a tennis ball container in newspaper to roll the slab on the container and then attached the two seams to make a cylinder. After I made the cylinder I made another slab and cut around the bottom of the cylinder to make the bottom of my mug. After the body of the mug was made I then constructed a handle to attach. I repeated this process 3 more times to make each of my mugs. After my mugs were bisque fired I started glazing, I decided I wanted the outside and inside to be different shades of blue. For the first two mugs, the inside color is HF-26 and the inside of the last 2 is SM-27. I did this because I wanted my mugs to clearly be in a set but slightly different, hence the slight height difference and 2 different colors as the insides.

The thing I am proudest about my artwork is that you can tell the mugs are in a set yet you can also clearly see the slight differences that make each one unique. Something I struggled with was making the handles, I had a hard time figuring out what type of handle would work with my mug and still be durable. In the end, I made a handle that works and that I'm happy with after trying a few options. One thing I would revise to make my work stronger would be to add a layer or two of clear glaze to the first two mugs with the HF-26 inside glaze. I think that adding some clear glaze it would make the texture better, the out and inside have different textures because the inside glaze is mat while the outside isn't.