Beyond the world of pinch and coil constructions and wheel-thrown pots lies a vast array of opportunities for the ceramic artist. In Extruder, Mold & Tile: Forming Techniques potters will discover a wealth of information, techniques and inspiration on topics that span the usual to the unusual as well as the functional to the sculptural.
The advent of the extruder centuries ago has served to benefit the artist in many ways, facilitating work that cannot be done easily, or at all, on the wheel or by hand. Molds have been used since the dawn of ceramics beginning with making pots inside baskets. And with tile making, ceramic artists find the two-dimensional aspect of claywork challenging and create astonishing works with both traditional and nontraditional forming methods.
Here is just a sampling of what you'll find:
In Steve Howell: Creating Forms with Hump Molds author Harriet Gamble provides a detailed look at how Steve Howell creates his elegant, yet simple, forms and also reveals his technique for making the lightweight molds he uses.
If you think an extruder is limited to the number of dies you can purchase, you'll be amazed at what can be done beyond the plain, round and square tubes or coils that are standard fare. In The Versatile Extruder, Bill Shinn discusses the many possibilities of this tool and how it's ideal for sculpture, both abstract and representational.
Laura Reutter, a professional tile maker, shows you how to make Flat Tiles the Easy Way with detailed step-by-step instructions.
Tim Frederich solves the problem of making an extrusion directly onto a wareboard to minimize handling and create a cleaner extrusion with an Extruder Table that pivots between the two positions.
David Hendley's Homemade Extruder Dies allow you to make shapes with finer details.
Daryl Baird saw some Extruded Boxes and set about developing his own technique for making them with his 18-step process.
By Following the Catenary Curve you'll turn your trash can into a source for creating beautiful works of art.
Cara Moczygemba enjoys Creating Sculptures with Molds. These ghostly intimate figures combine press molding and slip casting earthenware and stoneware along with slip and terra sigillata surfaces.
Clive Tucker gets into Dusting Off the Mold and incorporating molded pieces and parts along with thrown works to create fantastical assemblages.
Dannon Rhudy likes Throwing Molds. While this sounds absurd, her technique is exactly that - throw a form then handbuild something inside of it at the leather-hard stage. When the piece sets up, peel off the thrown mold.
Jerry Goldman describes how you can make Poured Mosaics by casting slabs of clay then stacking and firing them so they're crushed by their own weight.
Jeanne Henry creates deep Sculptural Tile Reliefs and DeBorah Goletz creates textured tile murals that are reminiscent of Ceramic Postcards. From Jeanne's stunning use of bas relief to DeBorah's architectural scale, the work of both artists is inspiring.
A Clay Draw Plane is a tool you can make to cut slabs for sculptures and tiles. This simple tool is easy to make and you can create several at one time, each with a different cutting angle for right angle or bevel cuts.
If you don't want to work with plaster, you can try Making Platters with Molds made from wood and clay. Bill Shinn demonstrates making slump molds using thrown parts attached to a piece of plywood.
After draping clay over or into a mold, gently pummeling it into place is done with a pounce bag. It's in the Bag for you when you make this simple tool according to Judy Adams' instructions.