In this video, I'm going to show you three easy and fun ways to decorate your pottery on the wheel
with colored slip.
Hey everyone. There are so many different ways you can decorate your pottery with colored slip.
It's a fun way of getting creative in the studio.
I'm going to show you three different slip decorating techniques for you to try on the wheel.
The first is a textured slip, then the drippy slip, and then the inlay slip.
Any information I mention in this video along with any links for the
supplies and tools I use in the video will be listed for you in the show notes below.
I'll be decorating three small plant holders made with Amaco number 11 a mix stoneware white clay.
The slips are also made with Amaco number 11 a mix stoneware white clay. When working with
slip it's always best to use the same clay body, this lessens the chance of your clay cracking
which is a big plus. Sometimes different clay bodies just don't match up and can have different
shrinkage rates. Okay, let's go to the wheel. We'll start with the textured slip technique.
This slip is made with cobalt blue mason stain.
Just reach in and grab a glob of slip with your fingers and put it on the
pot. The slip should be the consistency of cake frosting. Cream cheesecake frosting.
Get a nice thick coat of slip on the pot. About an eighth of an inch is good.
Put some slip on the attached saucer. Make sure the slip
is not applied too thick on the saucer because you need room for the water to go.
Now with your fingers move the slip around the pot to create a design.
You can leave it like this or you can create a more textured pattern
by pressing down harder so the clay from your pot shows through to form a cool texture.
There, I like that design. Now I'll let it dry to bone dry and bisque fire at cone 04.
Now for the drippy slip technique.
I'm going to start out with this slip made with red mason stain.
Cut the corner of the baggie about a half an inch,
because it's much easier to transfer the slip into this plastic squeeze bottle container.
Get all the slip out of the plastic bag. It's like frosting, except you can't eat it.
Before applying the slip to your pot you want to test out the slip.
Now apply the red slip a quarter of the way down your pot.
You want it to have the same consistency as cream cheesecake
frosting. Too thin and the slip will drip down your pot. Too thick and it won't move at all.
This plastic squeeze bottle container works really good. About an inch down and a quarter
of an inch thick is good. You can wipe off any slip on the pot where you don't want it to be.
Now for the fun part. Take your pot off the wheel and tap it until your slip drips.
Make sure you tap it evenly all the way around.
That looks good. Now set the pot aside and let the slip harden for about an hour or so.
Cut the tip of the baggie. A half an inch is good.
This time I have pink mason stain. If you have any slip left in your bag you
can transfer the rest into a new baggie and seal it up. Test out the slip's thickness.
Start at the rim and work your way down. You want it the same consistency as the red slip.
Get a good amount of slip on the rim.
At least a quarter of an inch thick is good.
Then work your way down to the red slip.
You also want the slip on the side to be at least a quarter of an inch thick.
Try not to have any air bubbles in your slip container or the slip will splatter. You can
tap the bottle to compress the slip. Now it's time to take the pot off the wheel and tap it.
Be careful not to tap too hard because the slip can slip too far down the pot on you.
It's better to tap more often to get the desired look.
That's the look I'm looking for.
Now, I'll let it dry until it's bone dry and bisque fire at cone 04.
Now for the inlay slip technique. I'm going to use the cobalt blue mason stain again.
These slips store well in these plastic bags. On this plant holder, I carved some grooves in
the side for the slip to lay in. Grab a glob of slip with your fingers and fill in the grooves.
You want the same slip consistency as the other plant holders.
Creamcheese frosting. If you'd like to know how to make this slip,
I have a video on how to make colored slip. I left a link for you below.
This is actually the slip I made in the video a little over a year ago,
and this is how well it's stored in these plastic bags. I do use freezer bags.
I do like this Amaco number 11 a mix stoneware white clay.
You want to get right into the grooves and cover the whole pot.
Add more slip as needed. I want to add a little slip to the saucer.
Now let the slip dry to leather hard.
Now that it's leather hard I'm going to remove the slip on the surface
leaving the slip in the grooves.
This metal scraper is not working as well as I would like. I'm going to use this loop tool.
There, that's better.
You can carve any inlay pattern that you like.
Are you coming up with some new slip decoration ideas yourself?
don't want to press too hard I want to leave a little bit of blue on the surface.
If you like what you see don't forget to hit the like button
subscribe and bell icon to get notified whenever a new video comes out. If you have
any ideas for future videos let me know in the comments section below, I'd love to hear them.
To get a touch more blue on the surface I will run the sponge across the planter.
That looks good. Now let it dry to bone dry and bisque fire to cone 04.
I'm using speedball clear glaze. Always mix your glaze well
and put it through a strainer to catch any clumps or debris that may be lurking in your glaze.
I'll apply one coat only on the inside and two on the outside with this large fan brush.
Before glazing I'm going to wipe each piece with a clean damp sponge.
This is an important step you don't want to skip. It gets any fine ceramic material and
dust off the planters to help ensure the glaze bonds nicely to the piece.
I'll start with the textured plant holder.
I'll brush one coat on the inside just one is fine for the inside it'll be filled with dirt
or a fake plant some potters don't even glaze the inside of their plant holders.
I'm applying two coats to get a nice shiny finish
the application directions say apply two to three coats. I found two coats cover well.
This fan brush works really well with the speedball clear glaze.
Now a coat of clear on the drippy ice cream plant holder.
Make sure you get in the grooves of the drippy slip. the bisque wear just soaks it right up
the clear glaze will enhance the color of the slip making the colors more vibrant.
Now for the drippy slip ice cream plant holder.
This glaze has a gel feel to it.
Now for the inlay plant holder. Make sure you apply a nice thick even coat. I also have a
video on 21 brush glazing tips for you to check out. Set it aside and let it dry to the touch.
If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comment section below.
All questions about pottery are welcome.
I made a drain hole for each plant holder.
Then wipe any glaze off the bottoms with the clean damp sponge.
Let them dry completely, then into the kiln they go for a cone 5 fire with a 20-minute hold.
I like the textured slip pattern and how the clay shows through the cobalt blue slip.
There are so many different things you can do. I think it turned out pretty good.
The drippy slip plant holder.
It does look like ice cream. this one is my favorite. I love how it turned out.
I will definitely be doing this technique again.
And the inlay slip plant holder. This one turned out nice too.
I like how the touch of blue shows on the surface. I'll be doing this one again too. Which
slip decoration technique is your favorite. I'll bet you can create some cool slip patterns too.
Speaking of creating I'd like to give a shout-out to Anton. Hi Anton I hear
you're crafting some pottery in your garage. That's pretty cool. Keep up the good work.
I build my list of videos to create based on feedback from viewers like you. You watching
helps me to make more videos like this one. Now head on over to my how to make colored slip video,
or how to make plain slip video. If you do I get to play with more clay. Let's stay dirty.