Hard Slab principles of design

• texture - imprinted a flowery texture onto teh slabs of clay using a texture tool; makes the surface uneven
• emphasis - emphasis on the large flower handle; glazed it pink
• balance - overall balance of the hard slab, everything in good proportion
• color - used under glaze to glaze it many different colors
• harmony - everything is nature-related or flowery, makes it seem unified

Hard Slab Process

Originally, for my hard slab piece, I wanted to make a design using the glazes. However, I realized that we had to put texture on it, so I ended up not doing it. First, made a paper model of my hard slab. I made it a cube shape. Then,  I rolled out slabs of clay and imprinted my texture on with one of the texture tools. Then, I traced a square piece of clay out using my paper model. Next, I left it out to dry between pieces of newspaper (newspaper would absorb the moisture from the clay). I repeated the same process for 6 more slabs. I stacked them up between pieces of newspaper and left it in a plastic bag over a one week holiday. When i came back, the newspaper was stuck on the clay and it was all gross looking. So, I restarted my project. However, this time, after making the slabs, I still would leave them between pieces of newspaper, but I would also blow dry them with a blowdryer to prevent the newspaper from sticking onto the slabs of paper. When i attached the hard slabs of clay together, I used metal knife and tried my best to cut at a 45 degree angle on the edges of the slabs. Then, I scored and slipped the slabs while they were leather hard (ceramic golden rule) and attached a strip of clay on the inside for support. I did that until I formed a cube. Then, to cut the box open to make a lid, I made a curved cut with a knife to make the lid stay in place. Then, I added support again to the lid. I used small pieces of clay and atttached them together to make a flower. I also made a lily pad and used the applicay technique and put it on the top. Then, I also scored and slipped the flower on top to make the handle. I incised a little pond around the lily pad. Then, I set this piece of greenware out to dry until it reached bone dry and fired it in the kiln.

Before glazing it, I rinsed it with water to remove any dust stuck on it (ceramic golden rule) (did it with my other ceramic pieces too). Then I used underglaze to glaze it. Pink for the flower, green for the lily pad, blue for the water, and the rest was blackish. For the body of the box, I tried to make more of the black come of when I wiped it down with a sponge for the design to show, but the black was kind of stubborn and stayed on. So, I stuck with that "newspaper" kind of design. Then, I put on 2-3 layers of clear glaze over everything to give it a glossy look.

Hard Slab Inspiration

I find an interest in tape art. Pretty much, I like art that is more arts and crafts-sy. I was thinking about what I wanted to make, and that idea popped into my head. My main design will be from glazing. After the hard slab sculpture is fired in the kiln, I glaze the areas where I want my lines to be, then I put tape over it. After, I will remove any excess glaze with a sponge and glaze the spaces in. I was inspired by whatever I saw years ago. Again, Pinterest had a lot of cool ideas regarding tape art. Some artists created an animal out of the tape. I might use that idea. However, we are required to use texture on the box, so using tape over that might not be the best option.

I also thought about doing a yin-yang thing relating to what we learnt in Asian Studies before, but I decided against it.

I also thought about doing a nature theme with a large flower as the handle. The texture and the lid will mainly be the design of the box. I might integrate a pond into the lid.

Hard Slab Introduction

Objectives:

• To experiment with leather-hard pieces of clay to form a sculpture

Materials:

• Clay
• Sponge
• Watered-down clay (slip)
• Ceramic tools

Procedure:

1. Draw out your design onto a sheet of paper and cut it out
2. Roll a slab of clay out
3. Wait until the slab is leather-hard (use a blowdryer)
4. Using the score and slip method, stick them together.