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Madeline Wynne

Slab building is harder than I thought

Updated: Sep 8, 2021

Most of the slab pots I have made in the past have been square or round. I have made a pyramid and a couple of bottle shapes, but basically they involved geometric shapes with simple angles.. In the last two weeks I have tried to combine curved and flat slabs in quite complex shapes, and it has been difficult. I realised quite quickly, that my slab building skills in both design and making, were not up to scratch. I didn't have the experience or skills to work out the angles for the joins.


I started off with some drawings, combining different architectural elements. The drawings were an attempt to get away from minimalism, to add some complexity. I then tried to make a cardboard maquette, but it needed to be simplified further. I decided that some elements could be part of the surface decoration rather than the form.



The first pot was quite difficult, I used the cardboard model as a guide, but couldn't make a template from it as I was trying to simplify it. I started cutting each slab and joining it to the next, I didn't attach them to the base until the end. I had lots of problems, the angles were complicated so I had to hand cut each join as I went. I wanted to know the angles and cut them in advance, rather than get them by trial and error, but couldn't measure them or estimate them from the maquette. It also became difficult to handle the form as more slabs were added. Picking it up, meant that if one join or slab was supported the others were placed under stress. Fitting and attaching the final slab was particularly difficult, as I had to mitre both sides to fit at the same time. Picking up the completed form to attach it to the base caused the weight to pull apart one of the joins. I had to start again wetting and scoring it to repair the form and join it to the base. The earthenware clay was chosen with a view to adding colour later on, but it was very soft and easily picked up marks on the surface.


I spoke to Rob when I had managed to fix it all together, he said that the best way to work out the angles, is by placing the slab on top of the previous piece, so something to remember for next time. He also showed me how to sharpen up the joins and smooth the sides, using different shaped metal tools for the curves and the joins. This was helpful, and I managed to get smooth surfaces after a lot of scraping, in fact most of the afternoon - then I added slip to them the next day!



The second pot was a little easier because I used craft crank: the slabs dried quickly and had more strength, but they could be joined easily by adding water. I still had a problem lifting the pot during making, and had to repair one join again. Finally, I managed to attach everything to the base, the surfaces were quite smooth, as the crank was drier and less plastic, so it was quicker to sharpen the edges. Smoothing the sides was more difficult because of the high grog content, which made the surface rough in some areas. I will try another clay body for my next attempt.


The main problem with construction was with the triangular shape, which was too narrow for me to access from the inner angle, and which was also difficult to access the join from within the pot itself. I should have made the triangle and added both sides at the same time, rather than adding them one by one. Perhaps I could extrude this shape, although I would need to make a die, as there is not currently a suitable one. I have emailed Cath Criscenti to ask how I might go about getting the material and tools for that, and await her reply.



The third pot was an attempt to overcome some of the problems encountered in the first two pots, and mix texture and colour. I chose a stoneware clay that was quite smooth, so I hoped it would pick up the textures well. It was also quite strong, so I hoped it would hold its shape and not mark easily. I made a cardboard maquette and used it to cut out a template for each piece beforehand. I had a clear idea of where I was going as I had a model to look at, as well as the paper pieces to cut around. I also modified the design of the triangular section to incorporate it within a more stable way. This worked particularly well, and I was pleased with the joins on this feature, and it was also more suited to my original source of inspiration.




I made the slabs, and cut out the pieces on Monday, and wrapped them up for Wednesday. The pieces were just the right dryness for slab building on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately they were a bit too dry for picking up texture from the plaster slab. I need to make sure I do the textures when the clay is wetter, and then leave to dry! I had to go over the impressed design with sculpture tools, but it did not work as well as it had on the crank. I switched to the wooden offcuts for texture on the triangular shape, and this was better. The final impressed textured piece did not work at all well, and I decided to replace it completely. I cut a replacement piece, textured it immediately, and left it to dry whilst I started to build the rest of the pot.


Building the piece was easier as the shapes were cut to size, and I joined them to the sides and base at the same time which made everything more stable. The angles were still tricky, but I had improved a little in my slab joining by this stage, and was resolving the joins more quickly. I was also managing to keep the sides thin, straight and smooth.


The final piece had the best texture of all, I had learnt my lesson, with regards to texture from plaster. However, fitting the last piece was to reveal another lesson that I needed to learn. Firstly, the rest of the pieces were now leatherhard, but this last piece was softer. Secondly, the templates I had taken from the cardboard maquette were not perfect and/or I had made slight errors at the joins, such that the final piece was too big to fit, and this piece was supposed to be angled inwards at the bottom compared to the top of the slab. One of the adjoining slabs was perfectly angled inwards, but the other was almost straight.. The new slab was wet enough to adjust to fit the gap, but not dry enough to hold its flat shape across the face of the slab. The new slab appeared to fit, but was not perfectly flat, and is slightly warped. Micaela spotted it straight away.



Thirdly, having put it all together, the whirler was precariously close to the table, the pot started to fall off, I caught it but stabbed through it with a sculpture tool. I did my best to effect a repair, and hope that firing does not reveal it.


The final issue however was the final form itself. I had focused too much on resolving earlier making issues, that I had lost sight of the overall design. I had resolved the making of the triangular section but created a wider, flatter pot, and missed out the curved pieces. It was a better clay, it had better joins, it was smoother, some areas of texture were better, but overall I think it was less successful than the previous two pots. This week I have gone back to the drawing board and my concept, and gone back to an updated and improved version of the design.







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