vince pitelka on sat 10 feb 01
I got a post from Janet Kaiser saying that she frequently gets "corrected"
by people who think that "slipware" refers to slip-cast wares. We can all
do some good here, as far as the Clayart list reaches (which is pretty far)
by using the term "slipware" properly to refer to slip-decorated wares, and
NEVER to refer to slip-cast wares.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Haley Doty on wed 15 nov 06
I am fairly new to the list-serv and to the world of ceramics, so pardon
my ignorance. Can someone answer me this, is slipware considered a
ceramic medium or a ceramic technique? What is the process involved in
creating slipware?
=20
Thanks a bunch!
=20
Haley Doty
Collections Cataloguer
Long Beach Museum of Art
www.lbma.org =20
=20
Alistair Gillies on wed 15 nov 06
It depends upon whether you mean 'made by using slip' ie slipcasting, which
I suppose is a medium, or, using slip as a decorative technique.
I make what I call English Slipware - using slip for decoration - I look on
Ebay for examples and find that slipcast stuff is often labelled slipware -
which to me is not accurate.
regards,
Alistair
Ironbridge Gorge, England
From: "Haley Doty"
I am fairly new to the list-serv and to the world of ceramics, so pardon
my ignorance. Can someone answer me this, is slipware considered a
ceramic medium or a ceramic technique? What is the process involved in
creating slipware?
Vince Pitelka on wed 15 nov 06
Haley Doty wrote:
"I am fairly new to the list-serv and to the world of ceramics, so pardon
my ignorance. Can someone answer me this, is slipware considered a
ceramic medium or a ceramic technique? What is the process involved in
creating slipware?"
My assumption is that you are referring to slip-decorated ware. That is
what "slipware" normally refers to in discussions of historical pottery.
There are various slip-decorating techniques, including sgrafitto,
slip-trailing, feather-combing, and others. In this case, the medium is
ceramics or clay. Slipware encompasses a wide range of slip techniques.
There's also a range of slipware where a rather crude and unattrative
claybody was simply dipped in white slip in order to alter the overall
surface.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Haley Doty on thu 16 nov 06
Thanks Alistair,
I have been looking a lot at Bernard Leach's work from St. Ives and
earlier. So, if he created a work with slipcasting, then I presume that
would be the medium. I just wonder how you can tell if a ceramic work has
been slipcast or thrown on the wheel?
On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:22:41 -0000, Alistair Gillies
wrote:
>It depends upon whether you mean 'made by using slip' ie slipcasting,
which
>I suppose is a medium, or, using slip as a decorative technique.
>
>I make what I call English Slipware - using slip for decoration - I look
on
>Ebay for examples and find that slipcast stuff is often labelled
slipware -
>which to me is not accurate.
>
>regards,
>
>Alistair
>Ironbridge Gorge, England
>
>
>
>From: "Haley Doty"
>I am fairly new to the list-serv and to the world of ceramics, so pardon
>my ignorance. Can someone answer me this, is slipware considered a
>ceramic medium or a ceramic technique? What is the process involved in
>creating slipware?
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
____
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Alistair Gillies on thu 16 nov 06
I think it is safe to say that Bernard Leach's pots where not slipcast but
thrown and decorated with slip.
If you go to ebay.co.uk and search slipware there is a nice example of his
'onion sellers' slip decorated work - at a price of 800gbp [1500usd?] !
By slip casting I mean pouring liquid clay into a plaster [usually] mold -
the style is usually more industrial, the walls of the pot are equal
thickness all the way down [thrown pots _tend_ to get thicker towards the
base] and you can usually tell where the seam of the joining parts of the
molds was by a little flat line where it has been 'fettled' [scraped] off -
or you can see the seam as a raised line if they have not done it very well.
I am sure that others will chime in on this.
Alistair
----- Original Message -----
From: "Haley Doty"
To:
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 4:32 PM
Subject: Re: Slipware
> Thanks Alistair,
> I have been looking a lot at Bernard Leach's work from St. Ives and
> earlier. So, if he created a work with slipcasting, then I presume that
> would be the medium. I just wonder how you can tell if a ceramic work has
> been slipcast or thrown on the wheel?
>
> On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:22:41 -0000, Alistair Gillies
> wrote:
>
>>It depends upon whether you mean 'made by using slip' ie slipcasting,
> which
>>I suppose is a medium, or, using slip as a decorative technique.
>>
>>I make what I call English Slipware - using slip for decoration - I look
> on
>>Ebay for examples and find that slipcast stuff is often labelled
> slipware -
>>which to me is not accurate.
>>
>>regards,
>>
>>Alistair
>>Ironbridge Gorge, England
>>
>>
>>
>>From: "Haley Doty"
>>I am fairly new to the list-serv and to the world of ceramics, so pardon
>>my ignorance. Can someone answer me this, is slipware considered a
>>ceramic medium or a ceramic technique? What is the process involved in
>>creating slipware?
>>
>>__________________________________________________________________________
> ____
>>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Snail Scott on fri 17 nov 06
At 10:33 AM 11/15/2006 -0800, you wrote:
>I am fairly new to the list-serv and to the world of ceramics, so pardon
>my ignorance. Can someone answer me this, is slipware considered a
>ceramic medium or a ceramic technique? What is the process involved in
>creating slipware?
As you are apparently a museum person, I'll
start by pointing out that collectors'
terminology often doesn't jibe with makers'
terminology, 'majolica' being a classic case
in point.
'Slip' is clay made to a liquid consistency,
either with extra water, or the addition of
'deflocculants' which change the viscosity
'til it behaves like a liquid.
'Slipware' most often, in a collectors'
terminology, refers to (usually) red
earthenware clay decorated with lines or
'flowed' patterns of slips in different
colors. Transparent glaze was then applied
before firing. It was popular in the 18th
century, but is still made as revival-style
items. Slip-coated clayware is also made
which doesn't emulate the historical
slipware style, but contemorary-style
work is seldom called 'slipware' even
when the techniques are similar.
Part of the reason the term is seldom used
for contemporary slip-decorated work is
because of another technique: slip-casting.
This is a method used to make mass-produced
figurines, tschotschkes, and commercial
dinnerware. It also is used to make the
stuff sold in those 'paint your own pottery'
shops.
This process involves pouring liquid clay
into plaster molds, then pouring out the
excess, and the resulting thin-walled clay
object can be fired. The molds can be used
hundreds of times and reproduced exactly.
While slip-casting can be used to produce
good original art and pottery, it is widely
associated with the worst of mass-market
schlock, so many people using the old
'slipware' decorating process avoid saying
the word 'slip' for fear of confusing
buyers into thinking it's mass-produced.
Although slip-cast ware isn't usually
referred to as 'slipware', it's easy to
see the source of confusion.
-Snail
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