Soft Slab Formative

In Process Photos

Artist Statement:

For this assignment, I had to create a mug made from a slab as well as a handle. We had learned how to make slabs in the very first unit of the year but we never actually made them into a form, such as a mug. Rolling the slab was probably the easiest part of the process, it was putting everything together that proved difficult for me. For this mug, I decided to make a pattern into the slab so that my mug would have some texture. I used a little toy tire and rolled it out into the clay. After I was done creating the texture, I rolled up my clay around a tennis ball container covered in newspaper and measured it so that there would only be a small overlap. Looking back, I think I prefer making mugs with no overlap and instead measuring it so there is a smooth connection, but for my first time using this technique, it was helpful to just allow the slab to overlap. Once my slab was connected, I made a bottom for my mug with the leftover slab that I had. After that, I made a handle. To make the handle, I used a strip of my leftover slab that was about an inch wide. I used slip to make an indent throughout the middle of the handle and to round the edges. Once I was finished forming the handle to the shape that I wanted, I let it sit for about five minutes so that it would be stiffer when I connected it to the mug. Connecting the handle to the mug took a little bit of precision because I wanted it to blend well into the texture on the mug. Once my handle was connected, I smoothed out the top, and I was done.

My mug evolved the most when I attached the handle. The handle made it useful and made it look better overall. The tools that I used most to create this slab mug were the needle tool and the wooden tools for smoothing and attaching my handle. I glazed my mug all one color (purple) because I thought that adding more than one color or a design would clash with the pattern/texture. I think this new technique is very fun and produces great results. I am happy with the mug that I made and I will probably bring it home and use it as an actual mug or maybe just put stuff in it.