Handbuilding With Clay Slabs

I start with two slabs in the Landscape Sculptures. The slabs are laid out and slips (or colored liquid clay) are applied in layers. I also add layers of glaze at this time, purposely breaking the rules. Glazes are supposed to be applied to dry clay and slips to wet clay. I use natural plant materials, fabric, previously made relief molds and anything else that comes to mind as I'm making the slabs as stencils and ways to achieve a rich texture and dreamlike imagery. I then attach the slabs to each other along the long edges, scoring and slipping (in this case slip means wet clay used like glue) and using rolled newspaper in between to give it strength and shape. I stand the piece up. At this point it begins to bend and slump often suggesting a human gesture or emotion. After the piece has dried somewhat, possibly the next day, I shape a realistic face or faces and hands to reinforce the gesture or attitude the work is conveying.

Clay is the perfect medium for creating landscape sculpture:

Clay is as warm and inviting as the earth itself. It is unique as the most impressionable and spontaneous material. It records every thought, movement, hesitation and confidence of the artist handling it. It is associated with humility, sincerity and humanity. There is no other material better suited for making figurative sculpture. In particular, there is no better material for expressing the human figure in relationship to the landscape, a central concern of my explorations in sculpture.

PO Box 384, Marlboro, VT 05344 (802) 257 - 0922; Email: pj@myfairpoint.net
Copyright 2005 Patrick Johnson All rights reserved