A slip is a liquid or semi-liquid mixture of clay suspended in water.
Types of slip?
Decorative slip
Pouring or Casting slip (slip cast ceramics - manufacturing technology)
Engobe or Reactive Slip (a slip which has various additions such as frits and colourants that interact with the glaze layer on top)
Vitreous slip: a naturally occurring or man-made slip that melts into a glaze-like surface at high temperature
Terra Sigillata (fine particle slip which is often applied before alternative firing methodologies such as Raku, Smoke, Pit or Sagar Firing)
When do you apply a slip?
Most makers apply slip when their work is leather hard or softer but slip can be applied at any stage, even during throwing or after bisque firing.
How can a slip be applied?
A slip decorated pot may or may not be glazed depending on personal preference and intention.
You can pour, dip, brush, spray, splash, or sponge on a slip. You can also work back into a slip decorated surface to create line work, lettering, illustrative designs and distressed effects.
Teqniques to explore:
Sgraffito (wear dust mask)
Etching (wear dust mask)
Hakeme
Spray
Inlay
Slip Trailing
Feathering
Swirling
Combing
Finger-wiping
Stencilling
Stippling
A few historical and contemporary approaches/practitioners to consider:
Korean Buncheong ware
Persian slipware
Greek black- and red-figure pottery
Native American slip decorated pottery
English slipware
Julia Carter Preston - Liverpool, UK
Clive Bowen - Devon, UK
Doug Fitch and Hannah McAndrew - Dumfries, UK
Jean-Nicolas Gerard - France
Vicky Shaw - Scotland
Books:
John Mathieson - Techniques using slip
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