Compressing A Slab Ceramics

Before you use the slab roller make sure that the clay slab is no more than three or four times thicker than the desired result.

Compressing a slab ceramics.

To do so evenly roll out your clay to the thickness you desire using rolling clay slab sticks 3 8 inch is a good starting point. Then cast your mold to form the shape of anything from cake tins to plates. If the clay it is too thick it will not fit under the roller. I have been making slab platters for years by slab rolling a large piece of clay draping it over my bisqued hump mold which i made years ago.

Then take a straight needle tool and holding it flat against the bat surface press inward until the needle tool can be felt dragging on the bisque mold. Use a template or a bat to cut a circle out of the slab. To compress the clay slightly you can use a rolling pin or your hand. Then i use a large window squeegee to compress starting from the far side of the foot area and pressing it into the clay while i draw it toward me.

Drape it over an inverted footless bowl that was bisque fired to two or three cones lower than the clay body s maturity see 1. Preparing and compressing the slab. Before attaching the bottom piece of clay to the form in the mold van hoey stamps the bottom of the slab with her chop potter s mark and places the slab into the mold face down this way impressing the stamp won t distort the final form. Compressing the slabs together she repeats her refining and smoothing process 8.