Every time I start a new series of pots, I challenge myself with a new color scheme. This keeps me on my toes, keeps me interested in my work, and keeps me testing new Mason stains. It’s important to me to be involved in the material aspect of my work, creating different clay body colors, slips, and glazes. I’m drawn to the seemingly infinite variations I can create within color. All color schemes are premeditated, planned out in my notebook, and then I adjust as I go.
Mixing Colored Slip and Clay
To make a casting slip, my general recipe is to use reclaim clay and mix in a few drops of Darvan 811 into a slurry. Sieve and use this slip as a base for different casting-slip colors and slip-trailing colors. Weigh out 1–5% Mason stain to slip for different intensities of color. This can be any amount: multiply the weight of the slip by 0.01 to 0.05 to get the percentage—for example, 4% of 500 grams of slip would add 20 grams of Mason stain. I recommend storing liquid slip in labeled, lidded containers.
To make colored clay, weigh out a pinch pot (I mix using 454 grams (1 pound) of clay at a time, but you can make whatever amount you need) in grams and add 1–8% Mason stain with a little water. Wedge the mixture into a homogeneous color, and store the clay in labeled, tight-sealing plastic bags.
Carving Lines
Once you have trimmed the foot of the mug, keep the piece upside down and centered on the wheel. Lay out the foundation for the patchwork grid by dividing the mug into sections horizontally. Using a needle tool, start by dividing the piece in half, then into quarters (1). Flip the piece right side up to finish the top lines and add an additional line on the inside and outside of the rim so the pattern wraps over into the interior. When carving the line on the interior, use your thumb to stabilize the needle tool as you press into the pot.
To create the vertical lines, use a template that is divided evenly into four sections and mark the lines on the pot. Then, using a needle tool, follow your markings to divide the pot with four carved lines. Go through and carve an additional line between the four, creating eight total vertical lines (2). Note: Make sure to follow your lines over the rim, and ensure that there is an even number of lines so the pattern can be checkered. Double-check that all of the lines are carved deeply enough that they won’t be wiped away later on in the inlaying process.
Adding Colored Clay
My handles are made from a slip-cast mold, and the feet are made from extra clay leftover from the casting process. If you do not work with molds, you can pull a handle and handbuild the feet. To attach, line the handle up with one of the vertical marked lines, score, and add black slip (3). I use black slip because I like the contrast to the bright colors used throughout the form. Make sure to support the pot from the inside. Roll out four dime-sized balls of colored clay and two smaller balls for handle embellishments. Place the smaller balls on the top and bottom of the handle and lightly smear the bottom 2/3 of the ball to create a little wave on the top and bottom of the handle (see 3).
Flip the mug upside down to add the feet. Using the vertical lines as a guide, slip and score with black slip and press the four dime-sized colored-clay balls into the bottom corner of the mug, not directly on the bottom (4). Although it is commonly known that three feet are more stable than four, I like that they all match the carved vertical lines. Once the feet are shaped, transfer the upside-down mug to a ware board, and place under plastic for a few hours to let the handle and feet set up.
Using a rolling pin, create colored-clay slabs that are as thin as a quarter (about 5/64 inch (1.75 mm)). I prefer to use Masonite bats for rolling out my slabs since they’re only slightly absorbent and have less texture.
While the slabs are setting up, use a flower cutter to lightly press a flower-shaped mark into the squares, sketching out where the colored-clay flower cutouts will be placed (5). Using a needle tool, score the interiors of the flower shapes.
Coming back to the colored-clay slabs, cut out sixteen flowers with the flower cutter (6). Attach the flowers with black slip (7), then go back through with a sponge to clean up extra slip and compress, making sure the flowers are attached well.
Next, from a different colored-clay slab, cut out a flower center with a circle cutter, then attach by slipping and scoring with black slip (8). Go through again with a sponge to compress and soften the shapes.
Lastly, add lines in some of the empty squares to further divide them and give the mug a more patchwork-quilt feel (9). Lightly cover the mug, so the flowers won’t crack as the mug slowly dries.
Painting and Slip Trailing
Once the mug has dried out completely, inlay the carved lines using a mixture of Mason stain 6600 mixed with water to an ink-like consistency (10). Use a damp sponge to remove the excess stain around the lines. Make sure to clean the sponge between every wipe (11). This process can be a little smeary at first, but with patience and a clean sponge the spaces between the lines will become clear. This is also a great time to wipe away any unwanted texture and smooth out the handle additions.
After all the carved lines are inlaid, paint two coats of underglaze into the checkered squares to create a quilt-like pattern (12). If using blue underglazes (which can often run with some clear glazes), think about what color they will flow into. If the underglaze goes over the lines or smudges, use a needle tool to scrape away the unwanted color. Remember to add color to the squares that flow over the rim (13).
Starting with the black slip, add colored dots to different sections on the mug (14). Play with color combinations and take care to balance out the composition. Make sure to use the colored clay slip that was used in the handle to tie the hues together. Be careful and patient, letting the dots dry as you go so they won’t smear. Finally, to complete your mug, add a dotted pattern to the bottom of the mug (15).
Be Rose is an almost full-time studio potter working in Horseshoe, North Carolina. She and her partner are renovating a production pottery studio into a community working space called Pink Duck Pottery Studio. She received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design in 2017 and has completed several residencies since. Learn more at claybybe.comand on Instagram @clay.by.be.
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Mixing Colored Slip and Clay
To make a casting slip, my general recipe is to use reclaim clay and mix in a few drops of Darvan 811 into a slurry. Sieve and use this slip as a base for different casting-slip colors and slip-trailing colors. Weigh out 1–5% Mason stain to slip for different intensities of color. This can be any amount: multiply the weight of the slip by 0.01 to 0.05 to get the percentage—for example, 4% of 500 grams of slip would add 20 grams of Mason stain. I recommend storing liquid slip in labeled, lidded containers.
To make colored clay, weigh out a pinch pot (I mix using 454 grams (1 pound) of clay at a time, but you can make whatever amount you need) in grams and add 1–8% Mason stain with a little water. Wedge the mixture into a homogeneous color, and store the clay in labeled, tight-sealing plastic bags.
Carving Lines
Once you have trimmed the foot of the mug, keep the piece upside down and centered on the wheel. Lay out the foundation for the patchwork grid by dividing the mug into sections horizontally. Using a needle tool, start by dividing the piece in half, then into quarters (1). Flip the piece right side up to finish the top lines and add an additional line on the inside and outside of the rim so the pattern wraps over into the interior. When carving the line on the interior, use your thumb to stabilize the needle tool as you press into the pot.
To create the vertical lines, use a template that is divided evenly into four sections and mark the lines on the pot. Then, using a needle tool, follow your markings to divide the pot with four carved lines. Go through and carve an additional line between the four, creating eight total vertical lines (2). Note: Make sure to follow your lines over the rim, and ensure that there is an even number of lines so the pattern can be checkered. Double-check that all of the lines are carved deeply enough that they won’t be wiped away later on in the inlaying process.
Adding Colored Clay
My handles are made from a slip-cast mold, and the feet are made from extra clay leftover from the casting process. If you do not work with molds, you can pull a handle and handbuild the feet. To attach, line the handle up with one of the vertical marked lines, score, and add black slip (3). I use black slip because I like the contrast to the bright colors used throughout the form. Make sure to support the pot from the inside. Roll out four dime-sized balls of colored clay and two smaller balls for handle embellishments. Place the smaller balls on the top and bottom of the handle and lightly smear the bottom 2/3 of the ball to create a little wave on the top and bottom of the handle (see 3).
Flip the mug upside down to add the feet. Using the vertical lines as a guide, slip and score with black slip and press the four dime-sized colored-clay balls into the bottom corner of the mug, not directly on the bottom (4). Although it is commonly known that three feet are more stable than four, I like that they all match the carved vertical lines. Once the feet are shaped, transfer the upside-down mug to a ware board, and place under plastic for a few hours to let the handle and feet set up.
Using a rolling pin, create colored-clay slabs that are as thin as a quarter (about 5/64 inch (1.75 mm)). I prefer to use Masonite bats for rolling out my slabs since they’re only slightly absorbent and have less texture.
While the slabs are setting up, use a flower cutter to lightly press a flower-shaped mark into the squares, sketching out where the colored-clay flower cutouts will be placed (5). Using a needle tool, score the interiors of the flower shapes.
Coming back to the colored-clay slabs, cut out sixteen flowers with the flower cutter (6). Attach the flowers with black slip (7), then go back through with a sponge to clean up extra slip and compress, making sure the flowers are attached well.
Next, from a different colored-clay slab, cut out a flower center with a circle cutter, then attach by slipping and scoring with black slip (8). Go through again with a sponge to compress and soften the shapes.
Lastly, add lines in some of the empty squares to further divide them and give the mug a more patchwork-quilt feel (9). Lightly cover the mug, so the flowers won’t crack as the mug slowly dries.
Painting and Slip Trailing
Once the mug has dried out completely, inlay the carved lines using a mixture of Mason stain 6600 mixed with water to an ink-like consistency (10). Use a damp sponge to remove the excess stain around the lines. Make sure to clean the sponge between every wipe (11). This process can be a little smeary at first, but with patience and a clean sponge the spaces between the lines will become clear. This is also a great time to wipe away any unwanted texture and smooth out the handle additions.
After all the carved lines are inlaid, paint two coats of underglaze into the checkered squares to create a quilt-like pattern (12). If using blue underglazes (which can often run with some clear glazes), think about what color they will flow into. If the underglaze goes over the lines or smudges, use a needle tool to scrape away the unwanted color. Remember to add color to the squares that flow over the rim (13).
Starting with the black slip, add colored dots to different sections on the mug (14). Play with color combinations and take care to balance out the composition. Make sure to use the colored clay slip that was used in the handle to tie the hues together. Be careful and patient, letting the dots dry as you go so they won’t smear. Finally, to complete your mug, add a dotted pattern to the bottom of the mug (15).
Be Rose is an almost full-time studio potter working in Horseshoe, North Carolina. She and her partner are renovating a production pottery studio into a community working space called Pink Duck Pottery Studio. She received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design in 2017 and has completed several residencies since. Learn more at claybybe.com and on Instagram @clay.by.be.
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