Slabs are the most versatile method for building in clay. Dropping “slab built clay sculpture” into a search engine brings us a dazzling array of ideas, approaches and techniques. As a ceramist, I feel somewhat comfortable working with any technique in clay, but I return again and again to slabs because they allow the greatest possible speed and control for constructing asymmetrical forms.
Slab building is usually divided into two categories, the first is soft slab construction. Here, the clay is pressed into slabs, either by slab roller, hand rolling or throwing. since we don’t have a slab roller at the PCC studio, we will be using hand-made techniques. Here is a nice video to get you thinking about the process.
http://www.ehow.com/video_2377003_hand-making-clay-slab.html
Once the slab is created, soft slab construction begins immediately and uses the plasticity of the wet clay to create sensual organic forms. this piece, made a just before Foxy-Wolff started, is entirely soft slab constructed except for the head, which is made from pinched forms. Please note the strong texture on the body of the lion, this is a great potential of the soft slab and can add a significant dimension to the piece.
The slab can also be used as an independent sculptural element, to define space or communicate an idea in relation to form. This vessel straddles the figure and architecture with the addition of the gate/shrine at the top of the torso.
The second type of slab construction is stiff slab. Here slabs are created and sometimes pressed into molds and then allowed to dry so that they may retain their rigid forms and hold strong angles. This is the method of construction for the doll houses made for our film series “The Magic Box” In this project, each wall was made and cast in plaster, then soft slabs were pressed into the molds and allowed to dry, when all the pieces were “leather hard” we assembled them into the structure of the first floor of the “Empty Room” house.
Another form to consider in using slabs, are tiles. While this may seem very obvious, tiles do not need to be boring or predictable. The use of sculptural relief and texture in both body and surface can create engaging and dynamic works of art. This tile by Gabe began as a soft slab that was sculpted, including the addition of the sea shell elements which were pressed in using a mold made specifically for the purpose and the addition of the spiral shells. the entire form was then cast. This allows us to create this piece again and again using various images and glazing schemes.
