Soft Slab Technique

For this project, we were asked to make a set of pots using the slab rolling technique and on top of this, they also needed to relate to each other in some way. The way that my pots relate are they were all made using the same technique but also by size because they get increasingly smaller as you go down the line (Even though the middle two pots look the same size one is smaller). The subject of my creation is just a set of pots but also it is focused on the slab technique for making pots. These pots were pretty simple other than the fact that we had to make multiple. The materials used on top of clay were a cutting tool, a ruler, and the slab roller. The process for this was to put a good chunk of clay into the slab roller to smooth it out, then I would cut my slab into the preferred shape that I wanted for my cup using a ruler as a straight edge. After I had my pots constructed I used glazes PC - 27, PC - 71, SM - 11, and C - 20. I am really happy with the way that the first and third pots came out after being glazed. I really like these pots because the glazes give them a rustic and older feeling to them. With all of the historical stuff that we have done this year, it really shows what I have learned about it and I like the smallest pot because of the smooth color it has throughout.

For this project, the process was short and simple. First, we balled up a bit of clay and put it in the slab roller, since we had to use the slab technique. After we had our slab we cut the slab into the preferred shape we wanted for our mug. Next, I connected both ends and finally, I made a handle using the slab technique. For this project, I didn't really change much. It is hard to see from my sketch but I made sure to stay pretty true to my design. The only thing I changed was how I was going to construct my handles. Originally I was going to pull a handle but decided to just make my handle from a slab since I already had a slab made up.

The story behind this work is we were tasked with learning a new construction method. So far we had learned the pinch technique and the coil technique but this was my favorite because it is the quickest out of them all. The one thing that I would say is hard, is getting the mugs ends to line up correctly without them cracking. This project relates to my life because my grandmother liked to collect older plates and other china so I wanted to make something that looked like one of my favorite mugs that she collected. The thing I am most proud of was how well these mugs were put together. I am most proud of this aspect because it was my first time building anything using this new technique. An area that I struggled with was connecting the pots together without them cracking but the way I overcame this is I added a little bit of clay and blended it with the rest of the pot. One thing that bothers me is the shape of my handles. I think if I were to do this again, I would make a wider handle that could fit my whole hand but the reason my handles are smaller is because we were running low on clay.