Building a wet slab bonsai pot

[ABCarve]

So here you can see where the joints in the corners meet. I always cut joints at a 45 degree instead of a butt joint so it will be compressed while being ribbed to smooth. Note the wrinkles from the newspaper and the tape that was holding the newspaper together. You can see the importance of wrapping neatly. Smoothing these out when the clay is leather hard can be a challenge.

 

[ABCarve]

Klaatu Barata Nikto

 

[Pitoon]

@ABCarve I really appreciate you taking the time to document your processes. I wish you were closer to see the process in person and make a pot under your supervision.

 

[ABCarve]

@ABCarve I really appreciate you taking the time to document your processes. I wish you were closer to see the process in person and make a pot under your supervision.

I'm pondering giving a couple of 2-3 days workshops next fall. Just a few people at a time. I think you need to see to entire process to really understand it. I think this could bring down the price of hand built pots if someone was willing to run with it.

 

[mwar15]

I'm pondering giving a couple of 2-3 days workshops next fall. Just a few people at a time. I think you need to see to entire process to really understand it. I think this could bring down the price of hand built pots if someone was willing to run with it.

Too bad you don’t live on the west coast...

 

[sorce]

Ooohh squared!

Nice.

Sorce

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I really like this last one, initially I was thinking the legs were too long, but the finished product, in the video is perfect. And I approve of your choice in radio stations, I'm an NPR junkie myself. Pretty much the constant background noise is NPR. Though once in while I wander the dial.

 

[barrosinc]

Pulling the plug!! The pot will be wrapped on the outside to slow the drying overnight. Once firm enough, ragged edges will be removed and general smoothing will be done with a red Mudd tools rib.

View attachment 340216View attachment 340217

Amazing work

 

[ABCarve]

I really like this last one, initially I was thinking the legs were too long, but the finished product, in the video is perfect. And I approve of your choice in radio stations, I'm an NPR junkie myself. Pretty much the constant background noise is NPR. Though once in while I wander the dial.

Thanks Leo. I’m surprised no one has recognized the allusion the title refers to. Maybe too obscure or I’m showing my age. Ooorrr....... it’s too lame.

 

[PiñonJ]

Thanks Leo. I’m surprised no one has recognized the allusion the title refers to. Maybe too obscure or I’m showing my age. Ooorrr....... it’s too lame.

Oh, I recognize it. But you misspelled it!
Don’t worry, though, Gort is on his way.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Oh, yeah,
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" I remember watching it on TV, in black and white, which I did not think unusual, because we, my family only had a black and white TV. I'd take the time to watch it every now and then when it came around. The 2009 or so Keanu Reeves redux was actually okay in my book, not the same, but pretty okay.

Your pot is too "square" to be the flying saucer, but the curve is reminiscent. .

 

[ABCarve]

This is a new technique I'm trying to use for wrapping the form in newspaper. The shape of the form is so odd that it's very hard to get paper on it without a lot of wrinkles which makes it difficult to finish on the the inside as can be seen in the previous posts for this pot.
I've cut newspaper into 1-1/2" strips and wet them. They seem to cling quite well. Small pieces can be added to fill in where the strips don't cover.

 

[ABCarve]

When I first started wrapping these forms it was done much like Christmas gifts......tucking, taping and cutting. Most of the time large wrinkles transferred to the inside of the pot due to so many layers of paper built up from the tucks. This is how I'm doing more conventional shapes now. You never have more than two layers a paper which only transfers a very shallow line into the pot.

 

[ABCarve]

So this is a fairly large pot that will finish around 16". I decided to use a groggy clay just to see how it would respond to the technique of scrapping it down with a rib. Getting started was quite messy from the tearing and pulling as the rib scraped the excess clay away. Oooooo! this will be hard to clean up I said to myself. And then, the other guy in my head said........why clean it up??

 

[LemonBonsai]

I really want to try and make bonsai pots! This post is really cool. A couple questions, What type of clay is best used for this, how long do you wait for the clay to dry before you start working with the slabs, and how do you dry the finished product slowly?

 

[ABCarve]

I really want to try and make bonsai pots! This post is really cool. A couple questions, What type of clay is best used for this, how long do you wait for the clay to dry before you start working with the slabs, and how do you dry the finished product slowly?

You should go back to the beginning of the thread. These questions have been addressed earlier. Don’t mean to put you off but there’s much more information you should really know about throughout the thread.

 

[LemonBonsai]

You should go back to the beginning of the thread. These questions have been addressed earlier. Don’t mean to put you off but there’s much more information you should really know about throughout the thread.

Ah ok. I read here and there but I guess I missed those points. and dont worry about putting me down, I live by the idea of those who doubt make me more motivated haha. Thanks!

 

[ABCarve]

Won’t be long before glazing and high fires. I guess I’ll call this the quarantine collection. I wait and do all my glazing at once because it’s the only way I can remember what I did.

 

[Pitoon]

Won’t be long before glazing and high fires. I guess I’ll call this the quarantine collection. I wait and do all my glazing at once because it’s the only way I can remember what I did. View attachment 349066

That first one on the second shelf is really nice.

 

[Flowerhouse]

The cascades with ribs!!!
One of them wants to come live with me