An Alternative Slab Building Technique

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2 жыл бұрын

This is a ceramic slab building technique that I really like using occasionally. It allows me to capture the soft qualities of the clay in the final piece of ceramic work. The form is made from soft clay rather than the more conventional practice of allowing slabs to go leatherhard before building with them. The stability of the soft slabs while building is achieved by the all important wooden block that supports the clay and gives the final ceramic piece its general form.
I like the looser overall feel that is captured in these pieces and the expressive quality that can be achieved. On the negative side, the forms that can be build are dependent on the form of the wooden block that you work with.
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Пікірлер: 77

@rosemaried6272 3 ай бұрын

Lieber Craig, mich erinnern ihre Werke an alte Gemäuer auf eine schöne Art und Weise. Ich werde es einmal versuchen, nachzuempfinden. Lieben Dank fürs Teilen.

@beckybrandl8957 5 ай бұрын

Of all the pieces I've admired and watched you create, this one is my favorite for all the reasons you described! I'm a retired primary school teacher so the added lettering with the pastel against the black background reminds me of the wonderful days of teaching penmanship on a slate blackboard. How you've added pieces against a 'too thin' side and straightened up the piece with a 'glob' at the bottom reminds me of how children think to "fix" their creations. The unevenness across the top delights me. I'm just beginning to take handbuilt clay classes. My instructor makes comments about smoothing out the seams and making everything perfect like a machine may create. I've explained to her that I like how I'm making mine a one-of-a-kind piece. After all, Pablo Picasso said, "It took me my whole life to learn how to paint like a child." I wish I could admire your creations in person but I live across the ocean. Wishing you all the best and thank you for allowing me to learn from you via your tutorials.

@CraigUnderhill7 5 ай бұрын

It’s important to enjoy the process of making and not feel the need to work in a certain prescribed way. Thanks for the message, it’s great to know that people really understand what I’m doing. Clay is a wonderful material and it should be enjoyed for what it is rather than trying to make it do things it’s less good for.

@jackiegrant410 2 жыл бұрын

My kind of working, fabulous, I absolutely love how you think and work. Each piece tells a story. Thanks, this takes the fear out of using clay in the “correct manner” I knew that there was a way. Newbie here and loving learning. ❤️

@MrsLanaHall 2 жыл бұрын

When I first started watching I thought- what on earth?! But I couldn’t stop watching! The result is mesmerizing and so moving! Thanks!

@annagray6491 Ай бұрын

Hi! Your work is very exciting! I just had a look to see your name and I nearly fell off the sofa! You are due to have a 4 day workshop at the pottery studio I have my pottery classes at and am hoping to be able to attend your course! I was obviously meant to see this video! Can’t wait to meet you in person! Kind regards!

@CraigUnderhill7 Ай бұрын

I’m back there in October and again next year in May. So glad you like what I do.

@jeaninebradfield4471 Жыл бұрын

Great work! I really like your contrasting underglazes. Thanks

@janlewis9099 Жыл бұрын

I love the softness of the edges, and the contrasting textures on this piece. Very inspiring to make hand built work show the hand.

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

I think leaving evidence of how the piece is made is so important for me.

@lydiabaca 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent post. Love your vision of compositional skills.

@carolzic7837 2 жыл бұрын

I love what you do. Thank you for sharing.

@gonenhaba-meishar1288 Жыл бұрын

WOW REALY INSPIRING

@debrabarber-wilson3305 5 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and creativity

@elainehenderson842 Жыл бұрын

Lovely work!

@leonieclapham5141 10 ай бұрын

Thankyou for sharing this technique,very inspiring

@tumizoomi202 4 ай бұрын

.... awesome video, thanks for sharing!

@charlottesmom Жыл бұрын

LOVE this!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

@shontal_ceramic2830 8 ай бұрын

I learn so much from you. Thank you so so much

@suzanneadams8729 Жыл бұрын

I so enjoyed watching your process. This work ‘speaks’ to me. Thank you

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

Oh, that’s great. It’s rewarding for me when people understand it.

@vulcanswork 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this video. To me, this is an old castle and it tells so many interesting stories about ...

@CraigUnderhill7 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I want my work to suggest a feeling or narrative without being too literal. Your response is just right.

@rosspadden4201 Жыл бұрын

Great work Craig. Organic and full of character. Nice one.

@cherylfirth7066 11 ай бұрын

I absolutely loved watching this video. Can’t wait to try something like this. You are a good teacher.

@christinewalsh3066 Жыл бұрын

very inspirational

@manuel-reneaguilar1709 Жыл бұрын

Your work is amazing!!! Thanks for sharing. Tell us more about engobes, particularly how to apply and layer them.

@aprilwoosley1342 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting and I had the same thought as a previous viewer...WHAT ON EARTH? However, I was really surprised by the results. I actually saw a landscape in that piece, the bottom where you added your hand made grog reminded me either of snowy trees or a mountain scene with the black being the night sky. But I also pictured blues and greens and the bottom being an undersea coral bed. Your technique is way different then my style but I surely learned a few things and also learned that I don't have to be precise all the time. Thanks!

@daniellaamit6912 Жыл бұрын

Well...adding myself to the others who felt "just my kind of work". I love the intuitive way of working, the mess in the studio...I felt at home. You work is absolutely beautiful and refreshing.

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the positivity. It’s good that you can relate to it.

@daniellaamit6912 Жыл бұрын

Ha ha ! even the mess on the table reminded me of...me :)

@isabellaamburn Жыл бұрын

Love this. Wanted to know how you get the glaze parts to crackle. I love the grog too.

@bloomfieldjane Жыл бұрын

It's just gone 7 on a Saturday morning and I've just finished watching this, now, instead of scrolling I'm about to jump out of bed and get cracking on a alternative slab building pot... Now, where to get the wood slabs from... Is the DIY shop open yet😂Thank you for the indpiration🙏

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

Enjoy yourself. It’s a great way to work.

@bloomfieldjane Жыл бұрын

Thanks

@katiakatiakat 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve been enjoying your videos! Today I got into the studio to make 2 pieces inspired by your work. It was So Fun! I don’t have engobe though. Can I use slip like you use engobe? Spray it and have it drip? (New to ceramics) I would at some point love to try the engobe but didn’t want to wait for your engobe/slip video. Hoping you will put a vid out for how to make engobe, pastels (really excited to try that!) and slips for newbies :). Thank you for sharing! 🙏🏻

@CraigUnderhill7 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, glad you find my videos inspiring. You can certainly use slip like I use engobe. They are similar to each other. I hope you get some good results from working in this way.

@denisesarazin6753 4 ай бұрын

@@CraigUnderhill7 Hi Craig, is engobe underglaze, or something different?

@ebw78756 Ай бұрын

@@denisesarazin6753 This webpage will explain all…. www.vincepitelka.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Surface-Design-Engobes-and-Underglazes.pdf

@user-yr6pb3vo4h 11 ай бұрын

👏👏👏👏👏

@anawoods684 10 ай бұрын

❤

@melissalosos 2 жыл бұрын

really enjoying your videos! May i ask how and of what you make your "homemade grog" just dried bits of clay and maybe some sand? also, you use a term i have not heard of, OnGo or wron-go maybe?? is that just very watered down slip, same color as your clay? Thanks! Melissa from St Louis MO, USA

@CraigUnderhill7 2 жыл бұрын

Hello Melissa, the homemade grog is made from bits of dried up clay and slip that I fire to a low temperature and then grind up. The other material you mention is engobe, which is very similar to slip but has some flux in it that makes it less dry than a slip. I hope to do a video on “What is engobe” soon. All the best.

@elizabethvischer3745 2 жыл бұрын

You talk about the application of clay slip and engobes. Can you explain when you choose to use which and what the differences are in the way they apply/effects they give? I’m struggling to understand the difference. Thank you… and absolutely stunning work. Your processes are mesmerising!

@CraigUnderhill7 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, glad you’re liking my videos. Slip and engobe are very similar, so similar that there’s a lot of overlap between one and the other. Think of slip as being a mix of clays and engobe as a slip but with a small amount of flux in it, such as feldspar or frit. The difference in terms of their look when fired is that slip is quite a dry matt surface and engobe slightly less dry and matt because of the effect of the frit or feldspar. I hope to do a video soon about engobe.

@elizabethvischer3745 2 жыл бұрын

@@CraigUnderhill7 that’s brilliant.. thank you! So much to learn! Will get going with experimenting. Thanks for the videos… so inspiring 😊

@elizabethvischer3745 2 жыл бұрын

@@CraigUnderhill7 Another quick question! Do you make your own or do you buy them off the shelf?

@anawoods684 10 ай бұрын

Absolutely stunning pottery art! You are a great master of color, texture and shapes!Thanks for sharing your videos❤

@lynnefurrerart Жыл бұрын

Just bought some high grog clay for slab building and came across your videos. Thankyou so much for sharing. I tried your technique tonight and ran across some issues: 1)the wood feels heavy so I can't really tell if the walls are thin or thick. Do you correct this after leather hard stage? 2) after removing the wood, the newspaper stuck to the clay walls. I tried scraping out, but bits and pieces are stuck in clay. Does it burn off in bisque fire? The grog clay is very nice and textured, but I have to mist it more than the plasticized stoneware. 3) I assume you are not creating these as a vase that holds water, which I would like to do. Is there anything i should add/change for a liquid holding vessel before leather hard stages? Thanks for any solutions! I'm thoroughly enjoying your style and inspired by your use of stains and slip. Well done!

@mattiaspettersson4076 9 ай бұрын

In case he missed to answer you. The paper burns of. And to make it hold water you need to put a glaze on the inside and fire to a high temperatur (ca 1250 degres celcius)

@superfly2449 Жыл бұрын

I was wondering how the slabs of wood would be removed.

@mariachristinaborges-lutz7157 Жыл бұрын

I love your work, and have a question: What’s the material you used to do the texture like sand on those sculptures?

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

I use different types of grog to add these textures

@savannahscarborough2171 Жыл бұрын

Awesome, thanks! How do you finish the inside?

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

I generally use a mix of manganese and copper oxide. I’ve made another video about now I do the insides. Glad you like it.

@mariachristinaborges-lutz7157 Жыл бұрын

One more question: the mustard yellow one, is that underglaze or glaze?

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

I create that yellow with a mix of underglaze and yellow engobe

@debifrancis2962 Жыл бұрын

What is the sand like stuff

@judithfarley6990 2 жыл бұрын

Hi, lovely work. Where do you get your ongob from?

@CraigUnderhill7 2 жыл бұрын

Hello Judith I make it myself. I’m thinking about doing a video on engobes as they appear to cause some confusion.

@kathleenclarke828 Жыл бұрын

nice...wonder what kind and temp. or firing?

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

Fired to cone 1 in an electric kiln.

@whereisnatenow Жыл бұрын

Craig, how do you do the lettering on your vessels?

@CraigUnderhill7 Жыл бұрын

I use different techniques, sometimes it’s monoprinted, sometimes stencilled or just scratched into the surface. Let me know which piece you’re referring to and I’ll let you know. Thanks for watching

@whereisnatenow Жыл бұрын

@@CraigUnderhill7 Hi again, well, the one you did in this video has lettering that looks like chalk, but you call it "pastels" -- also there is a mostly yellow piece that looks like pencil. Also do you ever just use traditional underglazes instead of engobe? Thank you

@simonphoenix3789 Жыл бұрын

the volume is really low. its almost impossible to hear with my headphones even with max volume, but I'm not sure if its that low for everyone or its just me.

@giadouraki6711 Жыл бұрын

Volume is fine.

@maryellenrioux2494 10 ай бұрын

Same here

@maryellenrioux2494 10 ай бұрын

It is too low. Cant get it to go louder😢