A micro blog about clay
47 posts on throwing, hand building, glazing and firing. Each one answers a single question properly, with the reasoning rather than just the rule.
Pottery slip is just clay and water blended to a cream. Here are the three recipes that matter — joining slip, decorating slip and casting slip — and the ratios for each.
Slip is clay mixed with water to a liquid consistency. It is used as glue for joining, as paint for decorating, and as a pourable material for casting into moulds.
Coloured slip is white slip plus a stain or oxide, measured by dry weight. Here are the percentages that work, how to test them, and how to keep colours consistent between batches.
Every ceramic glaze is silica, a flux and alumina, plus colourants. Here is what each part does, where it comes from, and why glazes only work in a narrow range.
Dipping, pouring and brushing glaze onto bisque ware, with the preparation and thickness checks that decide whether the result is even or patchy.
Mixing your own glaze from a recipe: the equipment, the weighing discipline, sieving, testing and the safety rules that come with handling dry glaze materials.