Tuesday, January 24, 2012

New day, another technique

There was a time, about a year ago, when I was sick and tired of having glazes ruin my pottery. If the glaze didn't crawl, it blistered. If it didn't blister, it was just plain ugly. So, I was looking for an alternative decorating technique. The bottle above is made of a buff colored clay, so on the greenware bottle, I brushed on some white slip. After that set-up,  I randomly (and maybe artistically--Your call) brushed on an oxide. Then I actually scraped off areas that were too dark for my taste and added more white slip. The firing brought out the buff clay color to contrast with the white slip and oxides. Has potential, I think.
On this one, I borrowed an American Indian technique. I brushed on two different colored slips on just some areas of the greenware vase and burnished it in with my favorite smooth pebble. The way the colors got blended with the burnishing reminds me of a a cow's horn. I thought it would lose the smooth finish in the firing, but it didn't. Also has possibilities I think. Let me know what you think. More ideas are also welcome.

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