Thursday, March 8, 2012

Basket Making in Clay

As a craft major at Kutztown University I get to explore different areas of the handcraft's world. One area I've been delighted to explore is weaving on and off a floor loom. All the weaving in my fibers' classes gave me an idea to translate the woven form into ceramics. 
This is my original prototype. I began with simply weaving shop clay flat then lifting it up into a slump mold to give it shape.


My basket weaving then began to evolve and I began to weave over top and down into plaster mold.


As my pieces became larger I had to increase the strength of the clay to hold their form. So with the addition of nylon fibers to the clay I was to reach my goal of a woven basket out of clay.

Finished product after a oxidation glaze firing.

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