Slab-Built Ceramic Mugs
How Has Clay Reflected Life Over Human History?
After students observed the works of many ancient and contemporary vessels and compared and contrasted what they had seen, students were
challenged to develop a design for a slab-based mug of their own, research additional works online to stimulate ideas, and/or brainstorm possibilities with a partner. Students drew several thumbnail sketches to determine the final design that they wanted to develop.
A thorough teacher demonstration was given and handouts were distributed to help students achieve their goals. Students were also directed to pottery Internet sites for further investigation. While students were self-directed, one-on-one assistance was given as needed, pending the designs students had planned. Some construction techniques further explored included rounding the bottoms of the mugs, using stencils to create handles or carve decorative designs on the mug, sculpting unusual handles, carving patterns and low-relief imagery and pressing texture into the clay with found objects. One enterprising student carved a turtle design into a linoleum slab, then pressed his mug slab into the linoleum carving to reveal a beautiful swimming turtle. Works were labeled with student initials on the bottom, air-dried for a week to the leatherhard stage on the drying shelf and fired in the kiln into bisque ware ready for glazing.
After students observed the works of many ancient and contemporary vessels and compared and contrasted what they had seen, students were
challenged to develop a design for a slab-based mug of their own, research additional works online to stimulate ideas, and/or brainstorm possibilities with a partner. Students drew several thumbnail sketches to determine the final design that they wanted to develop.
A thorough teacher demonstration was given and handouts were distributed to help students achieve their goals. Students were also directed to pottery Internet sites for further investigation. While students were self-directed, one-on-one assistance was given as needed, pending the designs students had planned. Some construction techniques further explored included rounding the bottoms of the mugs, using stencils to create handles or carve decorative designs on the mug, sculpting unusual handles, carving patterns and low-relief imagery and pressing texture into the clay with found objects. One enterprising student carved a turtle design into a linoleum slab, then pressed his mug slab into the linoleum carving to reveal a beautiful swimming turtle. Works were labeled with student initials on the bottom, air-dried for a week to the leatherhard stage on the drying shelf and fired in the kiln into bisque ware ready for glazing.
Photos and content: Sharon Padua Bogolubov
Pending student designs, a variety of decorative glazing techniques were also explored with teacher monitoring including: Mishimo (carving and filling with glaze), sgraffito (carving away underglaze to reveal the clay), glazing patterns, using a ceramics pencil to draw designs, layering glazes, sponging, splattering and bubbling. The results reveal the variety of student choice.
Twisted and sculpted handle,
rounded bottom
Contemporary handle w/ spattering
Scraffito and sponging
Stencil-sculpted handle,
stenciled logo design
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Pressed textured turtle from
carved linoleum plate
Contemporary design
Hand-carved minimalist design
Carved pattern
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Mishimo-styled glaze,
shortened construction
Low-relief carved image
Drawn silhouette
Layered bubble glazes
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