Kwong/Mangus All-Purpose Greenware Slip (with multiple color options) Eva Kwong

Instructions

This slip is very versatile and user-friendly. I use it for sgraffito, stenciling, mishima inlay, hakeme brush strokes, slip trailing, etc. It works well with low-temperature glazes, raku, high temperature glazes, and in salt and wood firings.

Originally published in the November 2017 issue of Ceramics Monthly.
For Copper Greens: add 3–5% Copper Carbonate.

For Turquoise Blue: add 10% MS 6364 Turquoise.

For Cobalt Blue: Add 0.5–2% Cobalt Carbonate.

For Army Green: Add 3–5% Chrome Oxide.

For Bubble Gum Pink: Add 10–15% MS 6020 Pink.

For Brown: Add 5–20% Red Iron Oxide.

For Maroon Pinks: Add 3–5% Manganese Dioxide.

I mix this slip to a thick consistency, like yogurt, so it creates peaks and bumps like thick icing to give texture and patterns to the surface. The slip works best when applied to leather-hard pieces. I paint by hand using soft pig bristle brushes. They are flexible and hold pigment well, are very economical and last for years. You can find them at hardware stores.

Colors will depend on whether the firing is oxidation or reduction, and the chemistry of any glaze layered over the slip. For white, use the base recipe without any colorants. I add many oxides and stains for a variety of colors. For most commercial stains, I add 10% to the base white slip. I can adjust these colored slips to personal taste by adding more white slip base to tone down the color or add more colorant to make it more intense or brighter.

I also use Amaco Velvet Underglazes or the Mayco Stroke & Coat Underglazes for small accents. They are compatible with my slip.