Initial slab boats

Initially I set out thinking about the sea and erosion for this project, and when thinking about the sea its impossible not to think about boats too. They are so ubiquitous that it is impossible to imagine a world without them, and this along with the fact that the first boats were made at least 10,000 years ago.

These were my first attempts at slab building clay boats. I’m not sure exactly what i was aiming for but i think these came out reasonably successful and at least proved that this method would work. One issue I have with these boats is that the sides are quite flat, so in future versions I will need to round them over more. Also the I had to change my template a few times while making these as i made one that was too short and curvy that looked ridiculous, and one that was far too long and looked like a canoe, but eventually I think I settle on a fairly natural looking proportion.

After making my first clay boat from slab clay, I wanted to try adding a cabin and crane to make the boat less rowing-boat like and more like a fishing vessel. I think this specific move towards fishing makes a lot of sense as the project originally started out with my fascination with the sea and its power and fishing acts as an excellent front for exploring these ideas as well as many more.

I really like how this initial model turned out, it has a very toy-like aesthetic from how simplified it is which is something I think I will develop.