Slab pots

In this project, my class and I were asked to create 4 mugs/cups and two platters/bowls out of clay. Although there was not much creative freedom in this project, as each piece had to serve a purpose in the kitchen, we still had options: handles or no handles; tumbler or mug, platter or plate, and of course we also had freedom with the glazes we chose. To contruct these pieces, we first chose the type of clay to use; I made all of my pottery out of the dark terracotta clay. Then, we rolled out slabs using a nifty machine in Mr. A's room that esentially does it for you. The only thing you have to do is set the roller to the desired thickness of your clay. I wanted my pieces to have a dainty feel, so, I therefore rolled out each slab as thin as possible while still making sure that it would be possible to physically construct. After rolling out the clay, we then used molds to shape each freshly rolled slab into a piece of pottery. For my mugs I used a tennis ball can to wrap the clay around, using a layer of newspaper inbetween the clay and the can to aid in an easier removal. For my bowls, I ised a plaster pre-made, filled in bowl that allowed me to crap my slab over and copy it's shape exactly. While suing both molds, I had to lets my clay become somewhat hard before taking them off the molds so that they would remain structural. I decided to add handles to my mugs, and make bowls instead of plates and platters. I then used Waxy White, Melon and Float blue glazes to fimish my pottery. For one bowl and one cup, I decided to carve into the glaze before a bisque fire to create an interesting design that I think makes my pieces more visually interesting. For the other two mugs, I created a chipped look on the physical clay so that when I used the Float Blue glaze, some peaked areas would become more pronouned, futher giving these pieces a more interesting look.

The entirety of the project, in my opinion, was based off form and shape, and of course, color, in referrence to the glazes. I tried my very best to make each piece clean and consice, as any little mistake would or could be very noticable in pottery thats sole purpose is usally simplicity, obviously due to its function. To achieve this, a had to wait a day after the constrcution faze to smooth and perfect my pots, thus is because the clay is much less soft and gamey at the leather hard consistancy that occurs when the clay dries out a little bit. I personally believe that the hardest part of this project was creating a perfect form, as it took me several days, and several tries to create a piece with little mistakes. Time was another issue during this project. For my very first mug, I was able to carve and use two colors of glazes; melon and white. However, towards the end, time started to become a larger issue. I no longer had the time to carve or use two colors, so I instead began using one glaze, and making my pots in groups rather than finishing one at a time. Although one of my cups was a fail in shape and color; the handle broke and the glaze is patchy, I am actually kind of proud of my other cups. I am was delightfully suprized with how nice the PC - 23 Float Blue turned out on the two matching mugs. I love the way that the glaze allowed the ridges of the stone-like carvings to stand out, and just how beautiful the different blues within the glazes are, as seen below. Although I spent the most time on the mug with the PC - 49 Frosted and HF - 17 Waxy White glazes and carving, I liked how the blue mugs turned out the best. I admire their simplicity.