:Creating the Sides:
Building the Box:
Cleaning Up the Box:
Cutting the Lid/Design:
Student worked on project every day to make the most of the time in class and make improvements when needed.
Printable Vocabulary Sheet
Ceramics: pottery or clay sculpture fired at high temperatures in a kiln to make them harder and stronger.
Kiln: A specially designed oven capable of reaching temperatures over 2000 degrees F (can be gas, electric, or wood-fired)
Clay: moist, sticky dirt (mug) composed of fine-grained minerals, which can be shaped when wet and hardened when dried or heated (rock material)
Tools: mainly used to shape clay
Earthenware (1800-2100 degrees F): clay fired at low temps, often contains iron and has a porous surface when fired.
Stoneware (2200-2400 degrees F): a buff, gray or brown clay which is heavy, opaque, and highly plastic in nature with a high firing temperature.
Porcelain (2200-2550 degrees F): a very fine white clay with a high firing temperature, non-porous, strong, and translucent when fired.
Hands, Loop Tools, Modeling Tools, Ribs, Sponge, Wire Clay Cutter
forming pottery using a wheel powered by a foot, a stick, or an electronic motor
a method of creating pottery using molds to reproduce forms
Pinch Method: fundamental to manipulating clay, pressing the thumb into a ball of clay and drawing the clay out into a pot by repeatedly squeezing the clay between the thumb and fingers
Coil Method: long, snake-like ropes of clay that are used in making pottery; involves building the walls of a form with a series of coils into the required shape; surface can remain coil-textured or they can be smoothed
Slab Method: a form is built up by joining shapes cut from thick sheets of damp clay
Glaze: a glass coating that is especially made to stick onto ceramic surfaces
Underglaze: colored slips applied beneath a glaze layer
Stain: raw pigments, can be water or acrylic based
Burnishing: rearranging and compressing clay particles by rubbing the surface of a clay object until it becomes glossy
Greenware: clay that has not been fired and still able to be made back into mud and recycled to use again.
Slip – wet and soupy
Plastic – moldable without cracks
Leatherhard – clay is dry enough to maintain form and wet enough to be smoothed, carved, and added to.
Bone dry – clay has dried as much as possible before first firing and is extremely brittle. Clay is most fragile at this point!
Bisqueware: first firing where all remaining water molecules are released from the clay transforming it into ceramic (Why are air bubbles dangerous during a bisque fire?)
Glazeware: second firing where glaze has melted into the ceramic surface making it non-porous
When joining two pieces of clay, you must always remember the 3 S’s.
Score: roughening up the surface of the clay to act like Velcro
Slip: liquid clay or water used as “glue” for attaching
Seal: to press the pieces of clay firmly together where they are joined
Hazards of clay dust: silica particles = EXTREMELY tiny pieces of glass, which become airborne easily and inhaled – extremely hazardous to lungs!
Solution: WET clean-up prevents dust from building up and becoming airborne. Use wet sponges, spray bottles, wet rags
Create a personal tile for me to hang on the wall. The tile needs to represent YOU so I can remember you for years to come!
Criteria:
Directions and Technique (25 points):
name & period; follows specific project requirements; uses appropriate building techniques; showcases a high degree of technical challenge and difficulty
Composition and Creativity (25 points):
midterm project is highly developed, balanced, & unified; interesting from all angles; surface and texture are considered; showcases a high level of creativity, and a high degree of compositional development
Craftsmanship (25 points):
high level of craftsmanship; everything (surfaces, details, connections/scoring & slipping) is done in a neat and clean manner; no extra marks, gashes, remnants, cracks, or lumps
Effort and Participation (25 points):
student worked everyday for the entire period without a reminder; cleaned up adequately and at the appropriate time each day; took responsibility for their project, work area, and respected the projects and work areas of others; turned-in on time
We will be learning the Slab Construction Technique to make a set of 2 clay mugs. We will add texture to these mugs by using our very own handmade stamps from our first project in class! Yay!
First thing’s first, learning how to use the slab roller! Gather your supplies (wire tool, stamps, board/cloth, smoothing tool, scoring tool, needle tool, and a cardboard roll).
Use your wire tool to cut off a slab of clay about 3-4 inches thick from your brick of clay. If you’re recycling clay, you’ll want a log about 34-6 inches thick.
When you use the slab roller, please DO NOT DO THIS:
Do not put the clay on top of the cloth mat and roll the metal roller directly onto the clay. It WILL stick and cause a mess for you to clean up on the roller. It is not easy to clean, and I do not recommend messing this part up.
DEFINITELY DO THIS:
Lift up the mat and drape it over the large roller, then lift up one piece of canvas, set the clay down on the canvas on the bottom (cloth side, not gesso side).
Place the other canvas sheet on top, cloth side facing the clay, gesso side facing up.
Lay the heavy cloth on top of everything, and then roll it all the way across the clay and all the way back.
Hopefully, your clay comes out like the picture below, but if not, never fear, just fold it over any empty spaces or add more clay and roll it back through. As long as the clay is wet enough, it should stick together. The slab needs to be about 11″ x 6″.
Measure out a slab roughly 10″ wide by 5″ tall.
The clay should be about 1/4″ thick. For a thinner, lighter mug, we will be throwing the slabs on the ground to stretch and thin the slab until it is about 3/16″ thick, but no thinner than that.
Now you should have a 10″ x 5″ slabs. Keep any left over clay neatly to the side. You will need this extra clay to create a bottom and a handle. If you have to, overlap remaining clay and roll back through to create bigger slabs for the bottom and handle.
Add decoration using your STAMPS! Your mugs do not have to match unless you want them to. Create a pattern, fill up the space. Don’t press too hard or the clay will become too thin and crack.
Hold your clay by the 5″ side between your legs and drop it gently on the ground at an angle to stretch and thin it out. Pick it up and do it again from the other side. Make sure the stamped pattern side is always facing up.
Measure and cut the slab back into a 10″ x 5″ rectangle.
Use a pony roller to roll the top and the right side to bevel the edge. They need to be tapered in order to attach the sides together and the top needs to be tapered in order to shape the rim, the part of the mug that will be touching your lips. The rim needs to be the smoothest part of your mug to be comfortable to drink from.
Flip the slab over and roll again on the right side and top.
Score the right side and add water.
Use a paper towel roll to carefully shape the slab into a curved shape. Gently lift and drape the clay over the paper towel roll. Make sure your clay is firm but still wet so it doesn’t crack when you add the curve.
Shape clay into a cylinder and overlap the right and left edges. Gently set it down; make sure you set it down on the bottom and not the top! Smooth and seal the inside and the outside seams to seal together and hide the joint. Place the paper towel roll inside the cylinder to add support when sealing the outside seam.
While supporting the inside, you may stamp over the seam to hide the joint, as well as add more insurance that your seam is sealed.
Bring out your clay scraps you saved or roll out another slab of clay. Gently place your cylinders on the slab and trace around the bottom of your cylinder. Do not cut all the way through, yet.
Remove cylinders and cut the clay using your needle tool. You should have two circles for the bottoms of your cylinders.
Turn your cylinders upside down (the rims should be nice and firm – if not, wait until your cylinder firms up to flip over so you do not warp the rim), and score the bottom of your cylinder. Add water and attach the circles you just cut out. Press firmly and smooth out of the seam making sure it is water-tight. There should be no holes for anything to leak out.
**A final touch that I like to do to add shaping and and make sure the bottom is sealed on tight is to roll the bottom edge along the table to create a beveled edge.
Use any remaining clay to make the handles or roll out another slab. If you have scrapes that aren’t large enough, overlap them and roll them back through the slab roller. If they are drying out, just recycle and get fresh clay.
Cut two long strips from a slab of clay. I cut mine about 1.5″ wide and a little longer than I think I need, so about 10″ should be enough. Always make them longer just in case.
At this point, you can keep them empty or add some stamping. Make sure you smooth out the edges so that the person holding the mug will not cut their hands.
To attach the handles, make sure they are firm yet not cracking when you bend them. Score the mug where you want to attach the handle, about 1-2 inches below the rim, and score the top of the handle after making a fresh cut. Add water to the score marks and attach firmly sealing the handle to the mug.
Form the shape of the handle that you want.
Score the cup near the bottom edge and add water. Firmly press the bottom of your handle into the score marks on the mug and cut off any remaining handle. Smooth out any rough edges.
Sign the bottom with your name and class period and place out to dry.