Ceramic Slab Building Techniques

Basic pottery hand building techniques.

Ceramic slab building techniques.

Effigy urn in the form of the sun god from 12th 14th century mesoamerica is formed from a slab of unglazed clay also called earthenware. This broad approach to slab work shows a wide variety of building methods and shows the work of many high profile makers in this area. It flattens out the clay and makes it ready to use. To get you started check out this article by daryl baird on using slump molds with soft slabs.

Most ancient cultures gravitated to the pottery wheel for the creation of vessels. Which is formed by joining flat slabs of clay together. Found in indian and mesopotamian architecture ceramic tiles are believed to have been constructed from slabs of clay since 14 000 b c. The aim is to explore and explain most of these methods through step by step images and text using a varied range of both pots and sculpture.

Before potters began using pottery wheels simple tools were used to create clay pottery. Beth peterson is a potter artist and writer with more than 30 years of experience crafting clay and ceramics. Today slab pots and slab building techniques are experiencing a renewed popularity. The most common handbuilding techniques are pinch pottery coil building and slab building.

Pinchpot coiling and slab techniques. The machine then has a piece of cloth connected to it which you lay on top of the clay. More on soft slab pottery. Slabbing clay is a handbuilding pottery technique that has been around for centuries.

Liz zlot summerfield is also an excellent resource for slab building techniques. In order to work a slab roller you lay your clay on a long strip of cloth. Slabbing clay is a technique the includes. Next you turn a giant wheel and the slab roller rolls over the clay like a steam roller.

The figure s elaborate garb jewelry and headdress represent the. If you have caught the slab pottery bug you ve come to the right place for inspiration. Below are the three most common forms of creating hand built pots. Most do not realize the infinite world of hand building and the artistic possibilities it opens.

How to slab clay. Slab pots tend to be a bit tougher to produce technically speaking than those created using other. Modern potters and ceramic sculptors have embraced the slab creating works using both soft slabs and stiff leather hard slabs. Birdie boone works with super thin slabs to make.