soft slab construction

For this project we were asked to create 2 plates/bowls and 4 mugs/cups out of clay slabs. For the cups, we needed to include at least 1 handle, and for the plates there needed to be a footing. To create this project, we took the piece of clay we wanted and punched it so it was at an angle at some location so that when it was going in the press it would be much easier to roll. After the clay was pressed and rolled out, we needed to decide if we wanted to have a mug that was straight, curved, etc. As you can see in the images above, I decided to do both. The mug in the blue glaze was a standard mug that I took the slab of clay and connected it to the base and added a handle. For the curved, you can see above I made it into an elephant's foot. For this, we used the outline board and took a piece of parchment paper I believe, and cut along those lines. This created an arch that we could then outline the clay slab, and create a cone-like figure. For the plates, the beginning procedure is the same. You take your clay and roll it out with the roller, then you take the piece of styrofoam that was the preferred size bowl or plate and stuck the slab on it with a cloth underneath for a certain amount of time. After a while and the clay pieces of clay were fired, it was time to glaze. seen above are the specific glazes I used.

For this project the elements of art that were utilized consist of form, shape, and color. Again, form and shape were used to construct the final results seen above. Each individual piece is its own unique form, with all the different shapes and sizes of these plates and cups. Color once again was used with the individual glazing pieces. For the principles of design, I believe I used variety. This is because no cup or plate or mug is the same, they are again all unique, and individually created by me. A problem I had to overcome with this project is ideas, In the beginning, I didn't exactly know what I wanted to do with the individual pieces, but in the end, I just began and went with the flow. One of the most obvious problems I had to overcome was the elephant's foot. In the beginning, I didn't exactly "want" it there, because that wasn't the original idea. When making this, I used the outline to create the cone-shaped piece, but when the clay became drier, I realized that it wasn't in the correct shape, it was more oval, so that Is when I was given the idea to make it into an elephants foot.