Craig Martell on wed 2 jan 02
Kate sez:
>I used a white earthenware (lowfire) slip to decorate a black midfire clay
>mug when I first started out, and was told it wouldn't work, that you can't
>use different clays together
Hello Kate:
Well, you did the right thing. When someone tells you "this can't be
done", do it and see if they're right. If the person who gave you this
info knew the mechanics of slip and glaze materials, they never would have
given you this misinformation. Think about all the different glaze recipes
we use and apply to bisque and raw pots. In order to do this successfully,
there needs to be some leeway for application differences and ways to
adjust things to make them work. Same for slips and engobes. The
possibilities are vast.
>does it need to be clays that fire at the same temperature to be safe?
This is always a good situation but it's not absolutely necessary. I've
seen folks use cone 6 rated slips on cone 10 clays. You always need to
test things so you have knowledge of success and failures. Putting a lower
temp slip on a high fire claybody is really not a radical idea. Glazes are
much more fusible than slips and they are applied to all sorts of clay bodies.
There are lots of guidelines for making slips and engobes. It's good to
know what the recommended procedures are and then you can take some steps
outside the boundaries and see what develops. Don't let people convince
you that you can't do this or that. Sometimes they don't have a
clue. I've had to dump a lot of old baggage like this myself.
regards, Craig Martell in Oregon
David Hendley on thu 3 jan 02
The sky's the limit in the world of slips used as decorative coatings.
The 'firing range' of the clay is meaningless when you are using
it as a non-structural coating.
You can use a high-fire or porcelain clay slip on a low-fire piece,
and it will produce a dry matt surface. You can use a low-fire clay slip
on a high-fire piece, and it will make a more vitrified surface, perhaps
to the point of being a glaze.
Pretty obvious, huh?
I regularly use pre-mixed, defloculated, low-fire white casting slip,
with added colorants, to decorate my cone 10 stoneware.
Porcelain slip is good to use as a base mixture because it gives
you a good white background for adding colors.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kate Johnson"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 8:19 AM
Subject: Using different clay bodies for slip--was question on blue slip in
salt
> I used a white earthenware (lowfire) slip to decorate a black midfire clay
> mug when I first started out, and was told it wouldn't work, that you
can't
> use different clays together (I wanted the color variation and didn't know
> any different.) To my delight, the slip decoration stayed put and was
quite
> effective...but I thought it was just dumb luck.
>
> Sooooo...you CAN use a porcelain, even, to decorate other clay bodies?
I've
> been quite interested in decorative slips, but brought up short each time
by
> remembering what I was told about it not working...does it need to be
clays
> that fire at the same temperature to be safe?
>
> Thanks--
>
> Best--
> Kate
Joyce Lee on thu 3 jan 02
Kate asked:
" Sooooo...you CAN use a porcelain, even, to decorate other clay =
bodies?"
----------------------------------------------------
I use Tom Coleman's porcelain slip on white stoneware, buff stoneware =
and Black Mountain (a black/brown clay). It's a commercial slip from =
Aardvark, but may be in Coleman's "Glazes I Use"=20
book, also. I bought 50 lbs on impulse when ordering other materials =
but so far use very little slip. =20
This slip looks fine on all the above clays..... doesn't peel away or =
crack etc ... at least, it hasn't until now. I was very surprised that =
it looked so well on the Black Mountain clay with Hank's shino =
glaze..... on top the glaze as well as beneath it. =20
All my clays are ^10 reduction fired.
I hope this helps somewhat. Wish I had more experience with slips so I =
could offer more examples. I do have many pounds of Rosencrag from =
Archie Bray but have had less success with it ..... so far. I think =
maybe I'm supposed to add something else to it ... besides water, that =
is.
Joyce
In the Mojave wondering where the rabbits are ..... the weather is =
gorgeous but no rabbits.... I did see where the roadrunner has dragged a =
stick across the dirt (packed sand) driveway .... looks as it he dragged =
it back&forth many times .... crisscrossing all the way to the mailbox. =
I heard him doing his knocking sound this morning.... wonder what he's =
up to.......
m markey on sat 5 jan 02
Kate asked:
" Sooooo...you CAN use a porcelain, even, to decorate other clay bodies?"
----------------------------------------------------
Joyce replied:
I use Tom Coleman's porcelain slip on white stoneware, buff stoneware and
Black Mountain (a black/brown clay). It's a commercial slip from Aardvark,
but may be in Coleman's "Glazes I Use"
book, also. I bought 50 lbs on impulse when ordering other materials but so
far use very little slip.
==============================
And I add:
I often use Black Mountain clay, as a slip over other clays, particularly
white and "yellow" high-fire clays. I also found that Najavo Wheel clay
(like Black Mountain, an IMCO clay) works well on wares destined for
mid-fire (cone 6).
Mohabee NakedClay@hotmail.com
Cool, but clear in the "burbs" of rural Yucca Valley, CA
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Mike Gordon on sun 6 jan 02
Hi,
I have also used different clays as slip. I take scraps or dried pots -
break them up and add water till the consistancy is like thick cream and
apply to freshly trimmed pots. In particular...... B-mix over Soldate
60. A nice white with a clear glaze on top. Mike Gordon, Walnut
Creek,Ca.
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