Soft Slab Construction

For this assignment we were instructed to make 3 mugs and two plates using slab construction. First, I started with a block of clay and wedged it until there were no air bubbles in the clay. Then I patted it out with my hands and left the clay at an uneven slant like a ramp. Next, I used the slab roller to create the slab of clay that I would use to construct my mugs and plates. I went through this process for each of my plates and mugs.

For my mugs I used a tennis ball container and taped newspaper to it so the clay wouldn't stick and then I wrapped my slap around the container to measure how much I needed to cut off so that the clay wouldn't overlap. After I cut off the extra clay, I laid my slab flat on the table and rolled the tennis ball container until the slap was wrapped fully around it. Then used scratch and slip to attach the ends together making a cylinder shape. I did this for each of my mugs. For two of my handles I made 2 pull and 1 slab. The pull handled I used the left over clay from my slab and rolled it into a carrot like shape and then dipped my hand in water and pulled down on it until it was thin enough for a handle and I was happy with the shape. I used score and slip to attach it to my mug. For my wide bottom cup I used the slab handle because I had a lot of clay left over and I thought it would match the mug nicely. After I cut the my slab out into a shape flattened cone, using the paper mold, I took the extra clay and created my slab handle. Once I was done with putting my mug together, I attached my handle using slip and scoring.

For my plates, I decided that I wanted to make a butter dish for my grandmother, and then I made a small decretive plate with scalloped edging. For my butter dish, I had to start by making a custom mold for my slab to be shaped into the size of a butter dish. To make sure the top stayed put, I made a border around the outside of the plate. For the top, I made three separate slabs and then I attached them together. I had to make sure that the slabs fit the perimeters of my dish. I decided to make feet for my plate so it wouldn't rickety if someone was trying to cut a piece of butter. I glazed it teal because I wanted it to match my grandmother's new kitchen tile. This was the most time-consuming piece I made in this unit because it had a lot of steps and separate pieces to it but it is the piece that I am most proud of this semester. For my second plate since I had already made a function plate I wanted to make a decorative one. I used a small circle mold and made my slab a little bit bigger than the mold so I could carve scalloped edges into my plate. This was a fun process even though I had to go over it a couple of times to make sure that everything was even. I glazed this with the poisonous metallic glaze because I really liked the way it made past student example pieces look. I didn't add feet, however, because I ran out of time and my plate was bone dry the next time I saw it. I think that it will be sturdy without feet though because it is small and if not very heavy.