Slip dots

Squeeze bottle of stained slip became snow-flakey decoration. I’m loving the dots. They flattened during the final glaze and the clear around them is a little thicker but I think it has worked well.

Stages of slip

As I blended up an ice cream container of slip for my Mishima experiment I thought perhaps I could use some of it for slip painting. I used a humble paint brush to apply this slip to a damp leather hard greenware cup. The design is quite course but I’m hoping to add some finer details after the bisque firing. The benefit of adding my design at this stage is it will be stable during the glazing stage. I can put as much runny glaze on this as I’d like and these blue leaves will go nowhere.

As this is tinted slip, the design is slightly raised. I’m going to rub these down once it is perfectly dry to ensure it has a good hand feel once fired.

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This cup sat on the shelf as I continued my stained slip experiments. I ended up filling a tiny squeeze bottle full of this slip and trailing on some stems. The finer detail really helps. I quite like the added dimension to the texture too. Now I’m looking at the photo, I really should have used a sharp tool to sgraffito some lines into the leaves. Ah well.

I’m hoping this stain won’t move after the bisque firing. It’d be a great way to avoid running of the detail. Then I could use the blue over glazes with abandon!

Wisdom of the ages pt I

I present Wisdom of the Ages, part I. And by ages, I mean my grandfathers pottery diary he kindly gave me when he realized I was interested in glazes. Originally I didn't realize how valuable this little notebook was, but it contains years of experiments and notes on glazes and firing regimes so I have decided to transcribe some of it here so it won't be lost when he passes on and I eventually lose the book or die myself. This book was written by a man who can write in 7 languages and speak 10. Before coming to Australia he worked as a translator in The Netherlands. Once here, the only positions he could find to support his family were menial jobs, such as working on the production lines of a moccasin or glass factory.
He is a thin wiry man who enjoys digging holes in outback Australia and looking for opals even though he's had a triple bypass. As the only grandparent I have left he continues to impress me and each time I see him I do my best to learn more about him before he's gone forever.

In transcribing his book, please forgive the spelling mistakes or random words. Poppa writes in a beautiful flowing cursive hand which can be difficult to translate at times.

Decorating with slips or engobe

Slips or engobe is a mixture of clay, water and colouring oxides. The most refined form (Terra sigillata?) seived through 200 mesh mill burnish to a high polish without glazing.

Stir the slip regularly, otherwise it will separate. Dip the pot briefly, the shake off any drips.

Cut out paper stenciles. Sponge the newsprint carefully onto the surface. Dip. When dry, the paper stencil can be peeled carefully away.

In sgraffito ? decorating the dipped slip is scratched away in lines or areas, to reveal the contrasting colour of the clay beneath.

When using terra sigillata on a fine clay surface, leave the pot after it returns to leatherhard for some tume until it is almost starting to dry out. Then polish the surface with the back of a metal spoon..

In slip braiding, the slip is piped through a rubber bull in the manner of icing a cake. Experiment on leatherhard clay; any mistakes can be easily sponged off. Before starting, expell all air from the container - shake it to make the air rise to the surface; then gently squeeze it out

Trailing on a wet ground, horizontal surfaces can be covered with an even layer of slip - then trail a contrasting slip onto the set surface. Work quickly and when finished, tap the supporting board to flatten the slip covered surface.

Marblling is done as above with a variety of trailed slip colours in a simple design of lines or blobs. Just leave off tapping the board, agitate it with a quick circular motion until the slip colours begin to swirl into each other.

Feathering is draggin thin strands of one colour of braided slip into another using a single broom bristle on a pen.

Cut plastic foam into a variety of shapes and use these to sponge slip onto the leatherhard surface.

 

10th C Bowl, Iran. White Engobe / Slip has been scratched to crate a decorative border which states "Planning before work protects you from regret; prosperity and peace". Met Museum of Art, Accession No. 65.106.2.