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Published Oct 11, 2019

slab built sculpture

Making a three-dimensional slab built sculpture from a two-dimensional paper template can present a lot of pitfalls if you don't really think it through as you are building. For instance, if you bevel the front and back slabs in the same way, you will end up with two fronts or two backs!

Erin Furimsky has been making sculpture for many years and has encountered, and solved, many of the issues that come up when making slab-built sculpture. In her video, Embracing Abstraction: Slab-Built Sculpture, Erin shares her tips and tricks to help you avoid problems and concentrate on making great sculpture! In this excerpt, Erin shares some great tips for joining together a bilaterally symmetrical sculpture if things have gone a little wonky during the building. – Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor


 

Subscribers can instantly watch Erin build an entire slab-built sculpture from start to finish on CLAYflicks! Not a subscriber? You can purchase the download in the Ceramic Arts Network Shop!

More Fun with Slab Building!

Slab building is a wonderful way to create forms that are all your own. There are many ways to build with slabs, and we have a ton of great slab building techniques from a variety of experts in the Ceramic Arts Network archives. Check out this excellent tutorial on how to make a clay mug using slab building from Liz Zlot Summerfield. Lisa Naples is a masterful maker who uses soft slab construction to make her narrative animal sculptures. If you prefer working with slabs that are a bit stiffer, you’ll enjoy this post from Lisa Pedolsky, who uses tar paper slab templates that double as structural support when building. These brilliant ideas will help you get well on your way with sculpture!