tree platter

This platter is after bisque. It was slab rolled and cut to fit a chinet paper platter. I added pipe insulation (the foam kind that is preformed and slit to slip around a pipe) to the rim of the chinet so the rim would have a more rounded profile and to support the clay as it dried. Chinet is great for forms as long as you support it from the back...it deforms as it absorbs moisture from the piece. This was a knowledge transfer from making paper mache forms. The tree in the center is a laser woodcut from the local craft store ... they make great stamps...center the woodcut then roll it into the clay using a pony roller until the clay just begins to stain the woodcut around the holes.