What Is Slip Decorating In Ceramics

Lana wilson uses texture and clay slip to decorate much of her work.

What is slip decorating in ceramics.

Decorating the ceramic surface a must for every potter s ceramic library. A slip is a liquid mixture or slurry of clay and or other materials suspended in water. The post is an excerpt from making marks. The big difference is that this ceramic decorating technique not only adds lines and patterns but it also creates a raised surface texture that adds tactility to the decoration.

A more liquid slip can be brushed on sprayed on or pieces can be dipped in a container of slip. Today i am presenting another super fun slip decorating technique that reminds me of putting icing on a cake. Jennifer poellot harnetty editor. One of the benefits is that the slips stay put so designs don t blur or run unlike many glazes.

You can also use slip for decorating pottery with various image transfer techniques. With these techniques you can achieve many different types of surface decorations and patterns in a short period of time using only a simple slip trailer. Chris lively applies thick slips to his leather hard pots and then uses various tools to sculpt and shape it much like a pastry chef would work with icing. It has many uses in the production of pottery and other ceramic wares.

There are many ways to use slip to decorate ceramic pieces. This dispenser can be a large bore syringe such as a baster or a bottle with a nozzle such as is used for condiments or glue. It s a a lot of fun to do washes of color on textured surfaces leaving concentrations of the glaze or ceramic colorants in the recesses but sometimes when the clay slip or glaze is washed off the color loses its vibrancy. And you can make designs that won t work with.

In pottery the two most important uses of slip are. Engobe is very much like a slip but the differentiating factor is that engobes are formulated using fritted material which reduces shrinkage due to this change in components engobes are used on pottery that has already been bisqued the use of engobes can actually be traced back to 3000 bc by digs that have uncovered colored pottery. Mishima ceramic techniques are what you d want for thin lines flush with the ceramic surface. Slip trailing delivers a stream of slip to damp or leather hard clay through some type of dispenser.

Slip decorating is a great example of a versatile technique. Like its cousin glaze trailing slip trailing applies material in lines using a slip trailer or other applicator. Slip trailing is one of the most widely known and used methods of decorating with slip. A thicker slip can be trailed onto the object using a condiment bottle or other trailing applicator.

Making slips for decorating if you haven t decorated with slips you re missing out. Slip decorating for ceramic pieces. Firstly to form the basic shape by slipcasting with moulds. If you d like a raised design slip trailing is the way to go.

This has been extremely important for several centuries and secondly to protect or decorate the pottery which is. There are so many methods for decorating pottery with slip from slip trailing to mishima.