ART 2346 Ceramics LSC: Spring 2010

Instructor: Kelley Eggert

Project 1: Introduction to Handbuilding Skills

Readings: The Craft and Art of Clay: Intro and Handbuilding (pg 23-40)
Design, Decoration and Glazing (pg. 103-126)

Goals: To learn basic hand-forming techniques of pinch, coil and slab building.
To learn the techniques of applying and decorating with slip and glaze.

Building Requirements:
1. Create one, 4” pinched sphere by joining two identical hemispheres. Walls are to be ¼ inch thick, try for perfect
symmetry.
2. Create one, coil built cylinder with smoothed walls. Size is 4” in diameter by 12” tall, walls are to be ¼” thick. The
cylinder must neck in at one point and neck out at another
3. Create one slab built cube. Size is 5” in length, width and height, walls are to be ¼” thick. Slabs will be made using the
slab roller.
4. Create form using soft slab method. Must be 5” in one direction.

All techniques will be demonstrated in class by the instructor.

Construction: These forms are to be well crafted, smoothed and finished objects. Try to make the walls even in thickness.
You should not see seams, additions or construction technique in the finished forms. Keep your pieces leather-hard by
covering them with a plastic bag.

Glaze and Decoration Criteria:

1. Texture, stamp or carve one of the forms. This is to be done at the leather hard stage.
2. Decorate 2 forms with slip, a shop slip recipe already mixed for your use. Slips are colored liquid clays that can be
painted, stenciled, or sprayed onto a clay surface to change the surface color.
Employ each of the following techniques to create your surface design:
Sgraffito – scratching through a layer of colored slip to the clay body underneath.
Mashima/Inlay – scratching a design into the clay body, covering the design with slip, the scraping away the
excess surrounding slip to leave a colored design.
Slip Trailing- Using syringe or dropped to apply low relief lines of slip.
3. Decorate the 4th form after it is bisque fired using glaze. You will apply glaze by either dipping, pouring or spraying,
which will be demonstrated during class.

Grading: Your project will be evaluated for skill and craftsmanship in:
1. 50% Building (pinch, coil, and slab techniques)
2. 20% Leather-hard Decoration (texture, stamp, carving, trailing)
3. 20% Application of Slip Decoration
4. 10% Application of Glaze

Important Dates:
1/20,25DEMO: building
1/27 DEMO: Surface Techniques
2/1 DUE: Proj. #1 green ware
2/17 CRIT

MODIFICATION (advanced students)

In addition to building a cube, sphere, cylinder, and soft slab form, you will manipulate the
forms and join them together to make a sculptural form.