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Begin:
Place a piece of canvas on the 1/4" depth side of the clay
board.. Place a 1 inch slice of clay and center it on the
board.
Roll the clay until you have obtained the
thickness of the side boards.
NOTE The
roller board controls your thickness. It is important as your
projects grow larger, that you maintain the same thickness of clay
as you hand build. This allows for even drying of your ware.
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Cover
this piece with a sheet of plastic wrap, and set aside. It is your
bottom.
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The
side walls are created from a 2" thick slab of clay.
With the heel of you hand, flatten the slab
slightly to widen it, before rolling.
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Once
your clay has been rolled to the 1/4 inch side board thickness.
Choose a Texture Mat.. There are over 50 designs.. I like the pebble
texture for this project, but you choose !
Note: If you flip the pebble mat over you
will get an inlay mosaic texture in your clay. So many choices ! So
much fun !
Plastic Texture mats are available from Arts and Craft Stores.. |
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After
placing the mat over the clay, turn your board. The roller should
not be resting on the side bars.
Begin with the side closest to you and press and
roll just once, to impress your texture.
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Peel
the mat from the clay surface. |
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Using
a Potters Needle tool mark a width of about 2 1/2 to 3 inches from
the right side of your textured slab. |
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Slice
the slab using the needle tool.
Note: A potters needle tool has the
strength to cut through clay without bending giving you a very sharp
cut.
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Peel
away the trim, and place it in a plastic bag, to be re-worked. |
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Move
the base slab back into your work area and remove the plastic.
Note: I move the project back onto my clay
board. The board allows me to turn the work without over handling
the piece. A turn table works at this point too.
Remove the 3" wide textured slice, and wrap
it into an oval in the upright position on the base slab over
lapping in the front.
Pressure in added to make
sure the clay edge is well seated onto the base slab.
Note: If you have allowed time for your cut edge
to begin to heal, you will need to do the score and slip attachment
at this point. But if you have moved quickly there is ample
moisture in the cut to marry the side walls to the base
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Using
the potters needle tool, trim the base to the edge of you side
walls. |
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remove
the excess after your trim. |
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Using
a palette knife and working upward from the bottom, marry the clay
base into the side walls. |
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To
re-detail the bottom edge, use the flexible mat in an upright
position, and two or three fingers on the inside for support and
pressure.
Begin working around the bottom pressing the mat
into the clay, while keeping your fingers inside for support.
Don't be concerned with matching the texture.. the pebbles blend
nicely together.
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At
this point.. the basics are accomplished... and your ideas and
desires begin.
You can alter the top edge by trimming.. note the
photo at the beginning of this article. Lower on one side to
give the piece some motion.. But you choose !
I finished off the top edge with a fluting, but you might leave
yours as is.. or do a pinched edge finish.
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Don't
forget to place the opening in the back to insert the end of the cell
phone charger.. Your cell
phone sitter
makes a nice charging station too !
Using you needle tool makes this job easy..
Be sure to start your opening 1/4 inch from the bottom to retain the
base.
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| To
attach the flip flip adornment... see
the class on Clay Cuts ! |
Terms
Marry the Clay: A bonding of the clay without the aid of
scoring and slip to attach two pieces of clay. Requires a wet
plastic clay. |
