Slab Building

17 October 2024

Slab building - I’m going to enjoy this workshop! Great to have a refresh of basic ceramic technique from Rob, already learnt a few tips that will inform my building techniques from now on.

Task: Build a slab form with mitered joints

Outcome: Using leatherhard clay which had been rolled out the evening before and left uncovered overnight, cut the 4 sides and a base, mitered the edges, used a fork and water to create slip on the area to be attached on the edges, then carefully joined together. Learnt to refine the edges using a serrated rib and working from the corner edge towards the middle on both edges. A new skill and a very satisfying process.

Task: Build a cylindrical slab built vessel

Outcome: Using wet clay, rolled out clay using the slab roller and left for a couple of hours. Measured and cut the form for the sides. Once cylinder joined, place on rolled clay to cut base, attached and compressed well to join the base to the cylinder. This process was much quicker than the more precise mitered form.

Task: Create a slab built lidded box, incorporating textures from previous workshop.

Outcome: I very quickly decided I wanted to create another mitered box, however as time was limited I didn’t want to create anything with complicated galleys for the lid. In preparation I rolled out the slabs to leave overnight, at the last minute I quickly added another slab which I textured using a metal plate with holes used previouly in the texture workshop. On the main box form I used my metal serrated rib to create an overall subtle texture to contrast to the raised hole texture used for the lid. In hindsight, the depth of the slab used for the lid form is far too thick and needed to be much thinner and more delicate.