3/4" Slab with a pool carved out in front

[Meegan]

Hi everyone,

I'm creating a swimming pool scene on a 3/4" slab of 06 Clay with grog. 
My plan is to carve out 1/4" deep area for the pool along the front half of the slab and put people, lounge chairs on the back half.
My concern is that having varying thickness on the same slab will cause cracking. Also, is a 3/4" slab too thick?
I usually make them 3/8" but since I'm carving out the pool I made it thicker to compensate.

Any thoughts or other ideas would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[JohnnyK]

Hi Meegan...Welcome to the Forum. What you might consider is raising the pool slightly above the surface of the slab, kinda like a wading pool, with maybe a 1/4" coil as the pool's sides.

[Meegan]

Thanks Johnny, I thought of that but I'm trying to replicate the pool at the Roosevelt hotel in LA with the David Hockney bottom.
Do you think it's too risky to carve it out?

[Meegan]

4 minutes ago, JohnnyK said:

Hi Meegan...Welcome to the Forum. What you might consider is raising the pool slightly above the surface of the slab, kinda like a wading pool, with maybe a 1/4" coil as the pool's sides.

Thanks Johnny, I thought of that but I'm trying to replicate the pool at the Roosevelt hotel in LA with the David Hockney bottom.
Do you think it's too risky to carve it out?

 

[Magnolia Mud Research]

1 hour ago, Meegan said:

I'm creating a swimming pool scene on a 3/4" slab of 06 Clay with grog. 
My plan is to carve out 1/4" deep area for the pool along the front half of the slab and put people, lounge chairs on the back half.
My concern is that having varying thickness on the same slab will cause cracking. Also, is a 3/4" slab too thick?
I usually make them 3/8" but since I'm carving out the pool I made it thicker to compensate.

Any thoughts or other ideas would be much appreciated!

my thoughts:
1. 3/4 inch is thick, but probably not too thick. 
2. as I understand the pool will be carved in near the middle of the slab (and will not be 3/4 inch thick when finished carving) while the remainder areas will be the full 3/4 thickness.  
3. If my assumption is correct, I would carve out some of the bottom side of thick areas  or just scratch thin cut lines say 1/4 inch deep on the bottom side to provide a better drying capacity. 
4.  or punch short holes from the bottom with a thin needle to in thick areas to increase the drying capacity. 
5. when drying place the item on some small blocks to allow air to flow under as well as over the slab during drying. 
6. these techniques have been useful for my work where the thickness were on the same order as yours and even twice as thick.  

LT

[Bill Kielb]

4 hours ago, Meegan said:

Any thoughts or other ideas would be much appreciated!

One thought that comes to mind is make a slump mold and use your normal thickness clay. A pool with skirted sides if you will. 

[Pres]

Both of the above solutions would work. In @Magnolia Mud Research's suggestion would work well if you thought of the area below the pool side patio as structural and left a grid of thicker clay with carved in stripes or squares leaving girders to support the patio area. @Bill Kielbidea could be done with a slump mold, or by using a piece of Styrofoam board to carve out the center as a form to shape your slab on. When leather hard flip the piece and add extruded coils to support the patio area.

My best thoughts,

Pres 

[Babs]

For faspter drying the slump mold of Bill's idea,  edges  like an upside down tray with structural  "beams " under the necessary sections to keep the deck level would work, though 3 quarters of an inch not very thick

 

[Meegan]

11 hours ago, Magnolia Mud Research said:

my thoughts:
1. 3/4 inch is thick, but probably not too thick. 
2. as I understand the pool will be carved in near the middle of the slab (and will not be 3/4 inch thick when finished carving) while the remainder areas will be the full 3/4 thickness.  
3. If my assumption is correct, I would carve out some of the bottom side of thick areas  or just scratch thin cut lines say 1/4 inch deep on the bottom side to provide a better drying capacity. 
4.  or punch short holes from the bottom with a thin needle to in thick areas to increase the drying capacity. 
5. when drying place the item on some small blocks to allow air to flow under as well as over the slab during drying. 
6. these techniques have been useful for my work where the thickness were on the same order as yours and even twice as thick.  

LT

Thank you so much! Thats super helpful advice.

[JohnnyK]

Why not try something like this. Not knowing how big you plan on making this sculpture, you can fabricate it from a 3/8" slab. It would be similar to a slump mold and you could use 3/8" plywood as the basic frame...

[Bill Kielb]

54 minutes ago, JohnnyK said:

Why not try something like this. Not knowing how big you plan on making this sculpture,

I would agree! I even think you could make it out of rigid foam fairly easily sturdy enough to make a few, whatever depth you like just cut a full opening for the pool, hot glue a thin sheet of foam from shallow to the break in the deep end and slump away, including the side skirt. Ombré paint the pool, add David’s design and maybe airbrush in some waves, carve some deck texture ……. Just thinking …….

Edited September 10, 2022 by Bill Kielb

[Magnolia Mud Research]

some additional comments:

1. a carved object will have a different appearance than a pressed slump mold object.  (been there, done that, but I learned things).   
2. a slow drying time may be better than a quick one, since the segment with the "people, lounge chairs" will added to the base and the attachment methods will be similar to attaching a handle on a mug;  i.e. control of moisture is important!   
3. manufacturing time is not likely to be the same as making bowls, cups, and soap dishes; This is one-of-a-kind sculpture. 
4. question to think about: how will the final object be handled by the user?  Think about how the user will pickup the final object and where the will be load stresses be in the object.  Don't get the object too thin where the handling tends to bend the object.  Having it too thick may be better than too thin!  

LT