Slips Revisited with Joe Simone

At the November meeting Joe took us through a brief history of the use of slips from the earliest Terra sigillata to English Slipware, Italian Majolica and Japanese Slipware.  Each country and culture brings its own interpretation on the way in which slip is used.  As contemporary potters we have all of these styles to choose from to inform our own work.

One of the earliest forms of slip was Terra sigillata used by the Greeks for their classic Red and Black ware.  Joe has used terrasig as the finish for many of his own “Pod” vessels. (See our Members Gallery tab for more of Joe's work).

Joe has also produced good results with terrasig in reduced atmosphere saggar firings known as Black Firing.  Other variations can be gained with modern body stains added to terrasig  for a full colour range

In this image Joe is drying brushed on slip with a heat gun in preparation for a scraffitto design through coloured slip.

Slips are applied at the leather hard stage and may be brushed, poured or sponged on for different effects.

Designs can be made with slips by masking areas of the pot in various ways with paper or tape.

Layers of coloured slips can give a marble effect if the slips are made using the same clay body.

Here Joe is demonstrating the techniques of inlay and slip trailing.

Native American Indian or Pueblo pottery used slips to show very intricate designs and these pots are hand made without a wheel.

This example is from the website:

http://www.puebloarts.com

Members had the opportunity to experiment with the coloured slips Joe had brought along, using his leather hard tiles. 

Here Gail (also in our Members Gallery) brushed on the blue, scraffitoed clouds, slip trailed the flowers in multiple colours and sponged on the ground.

Thanks Joe for a very interesting and informative demonstration.  We will all have another look at slips and how we might use them.

Taken from Port Hacking Potters Group Newsletter, November/December 2011.  
Copyright PGPG 2011