SLIP-SLIDIN'- AWAY!

WEDNESDAY,  22 FEBRUARY 2012

I FORGOT THAT I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT DECORATING SLIPS ON MONDAY LAST, MEA CULPA! PART OF THE AGGRESSIVELY NEGATIVE AGING PROCESS!  SO HERE IT COMES.

ENGLISH SLIPWARE 18TH CENTURY STAFFORDSHIRE

18TH C. ENGLISH TRAILED SLIPWARE - HARLOW

I STARTED WORKING IN LOW-FIRE SLIPWARE ABOUT HALF A CENTURY AGO BECAUSE IT WAS A NICE MATCH FOR MY DRAWING AND PAINTING SKILLS. I LOVED ALL THE TRADITIONAL FORMATS OF WORKING THIS WAY THAT I SHOWED LAST WEEK. IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY, SLIP DECORATED EARTHENWARE WAS THE NORM IN ARTISTIC CERAMICS. IN BOTH EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICAN CERAMICS WITH COMPANIES SUCH AS MOORCROFT, ROSEVILLE AND ROOKWOOD. THERE WERE ALSO SOME CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WHO WERE MAKING NEW STRIDES IN A VERY OLD CERAMIC PROCESS. PABLO PICASSO,  SAM HAILE AND AND FREDERICK HURTEN RHEAD WERE LEADERS OF THE PACK OF ARTISTS ADOPTING AND ADAPTING THE SLIPWARE PROCESSES FOR PAINTERLY EXPRESSION. FOR GRAPHICALLY-ORIENTED CERAMIC ARTISTS, THEY OFFER MUCH POTENTIAL.

19TH C. ENGLISH SLIPWARE - 

SGRAFFITO - BIDEFORD HARVEST JUG - NORTH DEVON

THOMAS SAMUEL HAILE - ENGLAND 1946

I ONLY WORKED WITH TRADITIONAL SLIPWARE FOR A SHORT TIME IN ENGLAND, JUST ENOUGH TIME TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE METHODS OF DOING IT BUT NOT ENOUGH TO BE TOTALLY SUCKED INTO ITS CHARMS. BEFORE LEAVING ENGLAND, I STARTED TO WORK IN PORCELAIN AND DEVELOPED A SLIPWARE/PORCELAIN HYBRID WAY OF WORKING THAT SUITED MY SKILLS PERFECTLY. I BECAME, SO I'M TOLD, THE SECOND POTTER IN CANADA TO WORK IN PORCELAIN.  THE FIRST WAS FRANCINE DEL PIERRE FROM MONTREAL. IT IS NOT IN MY NATURE TO COPY HISTORICAL OR CONTEMPORARY STYLES, BUT ADAPTATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS ARE CERTAINLY PART OF THE WAY THAT I APPROACH MY WORK. MY METHODOLOGY IS TO THOROUGHLY LEARN THE TRADITIONAL PROCESSES, BY COPIOUS TESTING AND TRIAL AND ERROR EXPERIMENTATION. THEN I TRY AS MANY VARIATIONS AS I CAN THINK OF UNTIL I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH MY HYBRID. IT GENERALLY PRODUCES A NEW AND INDIVIDUAL STATEMENT OF WORK RATHER THAN FORMING A CLONE. THE TRADITIONAL VARIANTS ARE COMBING, FEATHERING, DOTTING, MARBLING, MOCHA DIFFUSIONS,  SGRAFFITO  AND COMBINATIONS OF THESE.

PORTRAIT MUG - ROOKWOOD POTTERY

19TH C.  AMERICAN

MOORCROFT POTTERY - ENGLAND

EARLY 20TH CENTURY

TO WORK EFFICIENTLY WITH SLIPS, YOU NEED TO FIND ONE OR MORE THAT WORKS FOR YOU RATHER THAN AGAINST YOU! I HAVE DEVELOPED AND WORKED WITH LITERALLY HUNDREDS. WHEN I AM TRAVELING AND TEACHING SLIPWARE, AS WELL AS WORKING IN MY OWN STUDIO, I ALWAYS COME BACK TO WHAT I CALL ROBIN'S UBIQUITOUS SLIP.  A SIMPLE RECIPE, IT WORKS EVERYWHERE I HAVE BEEN, ON ANY CLAY FROM CONE 04 TO CONE 12. IT IS NORMALLY CREAMY WHITE, BUT CAN HAVE COLORANTS. STAINS AND OPACIFIERS ADDED. IT CAN EASILY BE MADE NTO A CASTING SLIP FOR BETTER DRAWING POTENTIAL. THIS IS ALSO PARTICULARLY GOOD FOR MOCHA DIFFUSIONS (MD). ALL CLAYS ARE PRIMARILY ALKALINE IN NATURE. WITH MD A MILD ACID (I PREFER ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR) IS MIXED WITH COLORANTS AND /OR OPACIFIERS AND DRIPPED INTO THE SLIP FROM THE TIP OF A CHEAP BRUSH.

ROBIN'S UBIQUITOUS SLIP

ANY BALL CLAY                               75

ANY KAOLIN                                      10

SILICA                                                  10

ANY FELDSPAR                                   5

TOTAL                                                100

TO DEFLOCCULATE THIS SLIP SO THAT IT BECOMES FLUID WITH LESS WATER. ADD 1% SODIUM SILICATE AND/OR 1% SODA ASH

THERE ARE MANY VARIETIES OF SLIP TRAILER.  THE ONES I LIKE BEST ARE RUBBER BULB TYPE CHILDREN'S ENEMA BOTTLES WITH DETACHABLE TIPS, OR BULB TRAILER SETS WITH VARIABLE SIZED TIPS FROM TUCKER'S CERAMIC SUPPLIES, ONTARIO, CANADA

"GREYBIRD" 2011 - RH - PORCELAIN SLIPWARE

MICHAEL CARDEW - SLIPWARE CIDER JAR - ENGLAND 1935

                                              

MICHAEL CARDEW - SLIPWARE JUG - ENGLAND 1970

HAVE FUN! 

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