I first tried my hand at slip trailing twenty years ago and was convinced I had found my thing. True to the adage “Give a man a hammer and everything is a nail,” I went forth, trailer in hand, madly scribbling over every clay surface I encountered. I have since learned to be more judicious with my decorating—but who can resist the vast decorative expanse of a plate?
Shepherding a plate from start to finish is always a challenge, but in the soda kiln it can be perilous. A plate’s horizontal planes are less likely to catch soda, more likely to catch detritus and debris, and often succumb to warping. But there are a few simple strategies I employ to tip the scales in my favor.
Throwing
Begin by centering 6 pounds (2.7 kg) of well-wedged clay with the edge of your right palm, lowering it into a flat 10-inch (25.4-cm) disk about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick (1). Avoid using excessive water, which can lead to S-cracks.
Next, define what will become the center or “well” of the plate, and what will become the flat decorative rim. Containing the clay with your left palm, use the heel of your right hand to slowly compress only the center of the plate. Your thumbs maintain loose contact, like a hinge, while your right fist presses downward, firmly rotating from 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock. You will soon have a rudimentary shallow dish, with a distinct center well, ½ inch (1.3 cm) lower than the edge and ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick at the center (2).
Next, push your sponge into the wheel head at the base of the wall, causing the edge to rise up (3). This establishes a distinct border between the well of the plate and what will become the rim. Now do one or two pulls until you’ve raised a wall about 4 inches (10.2 cm) tall (4). Make sure to compress the rim.
Before proceeding, use a semi-flexible rib to remove excess water and slurry from both sides of the vertical wall (5), and prepare for wiring-off by undercutting the plate at the base with a wooden knife.
Now lower the wall into a rim. Gently support the underside of the lip with your left hand, while using your right hand and rib to gradually press the wall down (6). Once the wall is roughly at a 30-degree angle, reverse your direction, gently driving your rib from the outer edge toward the center where the rim drops off into the well. This drop-off requires additional pressure and attention to smooth the transition into a shallower but distinct ledge (7).
Apply a heat gun for a minute (8) before pushing the rim to its final angle (9). It will rise somewhat during the drying process, so aim for an angle slightly lower than what you want. Finish by compressing the edge with a wet chamois, using your thumbnail to decoratively split the rim (10). The rim is now complete, and you can turn your attention to the recessed well.
Compress the well of the plate, from the outer ledge, where rim and well meet, to the very center. Repeat this process multiple times to deter S-cracks and refine the natural boundary between the two areas (11).
Run your wire tool under the plate and leave it to dry for a few hours. When the rim no longer gives to slight pressure, run the wire through again, then flip the plate over onto a foam bat. From this point, keep the rim covered in plastic, while letting the bottom dry to just leather hard.
Trimming
Constantly flipping the plate while trimming to assess progress can encourage warping, so I rely on a series of thumbtacks placed on the topside of the plate to mark my desired thickness. Each tack has been cut to slightly over ¼ inch (6.4 mm). Poke one tack in the well, avoiding the precise middle of the plate where an S-crack is tempted to form. Place a second tack at the transition from well to rim, where the foot should start. The third tack helps gauge the rim’s thickness (12).
Now flip the plate over again, bat to bat, and trim, pausing periodically to gently test the clay for a slight ‘give’. Continue trimming, and when you feel and hear the soft “click-click” of your trimming tool hitting the thumbtack, you know you have reached the desired thickness. After defining the foot, trim a fairly deep groove into its base so that the plate can be wrapped with a sturdy wire and hung on a wall if desired (13). Then flip the plate right side up again, remove the tacks, and fill each hole with a tiny bit of soft clay. Lastly, run a flexible rib over all surfaces to smooth imperfections (14).
Surface Decorating
Now the fun begins! Slip trailing is a delightfully forgiving technique. You can explore endlessly on a tabletop or bat until you get the hang of it, then take a deep breath and move on to your plate. When you do make a mistake (and you will), simply scoop up the slip with a soft rubber rib and jump back in again. No one will be the wiser!
The perfect time to slip trail is at leather hard, right after trimming. Whether you make your own slip or buy it, be sure your slip matches the firing temperature of your clay. My trailer of choice is a latex cake-decorating bag. It is supple and reusable, never “burps” and is much easier on my hands than bulbs or bottles. I prefer the smallest decorating tip, so it is crucial to run the slip through a strainer to achieve the consistency of wet sour cream and ensure it is lump-free.
Hold the applicator at a 45-degree angle, squeezing consistently while moving from your arm rather than from your wrist. Allow the slip to trail behind you while taking care not to gouge the clay with the tip of your applicator (15). I apply my slip freehand, allowing my botanical design to spill into the well. I like how breaking this boundary creates lively visual tension. Once the outline of my design is in place, I flood one or two of the flowers with thin porcelain slip so that a single glaze applied over several flowers will result in slightly different hues (16).
Once the porcelain slip is dry and the slip trailing is firm, I use small stamps to give each flower a distinct texture (17). Between the varied textures and the varied hues, my goal is that no single element will catch the eye, but the entire design will capture the subtle variations in nature.
Once bisque fired, I outline the slip trailing with a black stain, then wipe it back, which helps the botanical design to pop. Glaze is only applied within the slip-trailed designs. The remaining surface is left bare, allowing the whims of the soda-firing process to supply the glaze.
Soda Firing
During firing, a mixture of soda ash is introduced into the kiln, where it rides the flame through the chamber, creating varying degrees of glaze on whatever vertical surface it touches. But the flame can easily bypass low horizontal surfaces, which is why plates are prone to come out of the firing looking dry or unglazed. To ensure the eating surfaces of my plates are fully glazed and dinnerware safe, I mix up ½ teaspoon (2.8 g) of soda ash dissolved in ¼ cup (59.2 ml) of hot water until cloudy, then give the bisque-fired plate a very light coat to ensure those horizontal surfaces achieve at least a base sheen. To avoid warping, each plate is fired on its own cookie, which I will use multiple times until the cookie itself becomes warped. Small balls of wadding lift the plate off the cookie, so they don’t fuse together during firing (18).
This plate was fired in reduction to a very hot cone 10 and somehow emerged from its chaotic journey free of detritus or debris. Soda firing can be heartbreaking and exhilarating in equal measure, so when I am fortunate to pull a successful plate from the soda kiln, it always emboldens me to head back to the studio and try again.
Lesley Bevan earned her BS in performance studies from Northwestern University. She began pottery 25 years ago while still working full time as an actor/voice-over artist. She lives in Chicago, where she is one half of the founding team behind “Pots to the People,” a grassroots movement to harness the power of our imperfect pots. For more info, visit her website www.lesleybevan.comor explore @Lesleybevanceramicsand @pots_to_the_people on Instagram.
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I first tried my hand at slip trailing twenty years ago and was convinced I had found my thing. True to the adage “Give a man a hammer and everything is a nail,” I went forth, trailer in hand, madly scribbling over every clay surface I encountered. I have since learned to be more judicious with my decorating—but who can resist the vast decorative expanse of a plate?
Shepherding a plate from start to finish is always a challenge, but in the soda kiln it can be perilous. A plate’s horizontal planes are less likely to catch soda, more likely to catch detritus and debris, and often succumb to warping. But there are a few simple strategies I employ to tip the scales in my favor.
Throwing
Begin by centering 6 pounds (2.7 kg) of well-wedged clay with the edge of your right palm, lowering it into a flat 10-inch (25.4-cm) disk about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick (1). Avoid using excessive water, which can lead to S-cracks.
Next, define what will become the center or “well” of the plate, and what will become the flat decorative rim. Containing the clay with your left palm, use the heel of your right hand to slowly compress only the center of the plate. Your thumbs maintain loose contact, like a hinge, while your right fist presses downward, firmly rotating from 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock. You will soon have a rudimentary shallow dish, with a distinct center well, ½ inch (1.3 cm) lower than the edge and ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick at the center (2).
Next, push your sponge into the wheel head at the base of the wall, causing the edge to rise up (3). This establishes a distinct border between the well of the plate and what will become the rim. Now do one or two pulls until you’ve raised a wall about 4 inches (10.2 cm) tall (4). Make sure to compress the rim.
Before proceeding, use a semi-flexible rib to remove excess water and slurry from both sides of the vertical wall (5), and prepare for wiring-off by undercutting the plate at the base with a wooden knife.
Now lower the wall into a rim. Gently support the underside of the lip with your left hand, while using your right hand and rib to gradually press the wall down (6). Once the wall is roughly at a 30-degree angle, reverse your direction, gently driving your rib from the outer edge toward the center where the rim drops off into the well. This drop-off requires additional pressure and attention to smooth the transition into a shallower but distinct ledge (7).
Apply a heat gun for a minute (8) before pushing the rim to its final angle (9). It will rise somewhat during the drying process, so aim for an angle slightly lower than what you want. Finish by compressing the edge with a wet chamois, using your thumbnail to decoratively split the rim (10). The rim is now complete, and you can turn your attention to the recessed well.
Compress the well of the plate, from the outer ledge, where rim and well meet, to the very center. Repeat this process multiple times to deter S-cracks and refine the natural boundary between the two areas (11).
Run your wire tool under the plate and leave it to dry for a few hours. When the rim no longer gives to slight pressure, run the wire through again, then flip the plate over onto a foam bat. From this point, keep the rim covered in plastic, while letting the bottom dry to just leather hard.
Trimming
Constantly flipping the plate while trimming to assess progress can encourage warping, so I rely on a series of thumbtacks placed on the topside of the plate to mark my desired thickness. Each tack has been cut to slightly over ¼ inch (6.4 mm). Poke one tack in the well, avoiding the precise middle of the plate where an S-crack is tempted to form. Place a second tack at the transition from well to rim, where the foot should start. The third tack helps gauge the rim’s thickness (12).
Now flip the plate over again, bat to bat, and trim, pausing periodically to gently test the clay for a slight ‘give’. Continue trimming, and when you feel and hear the soft “click-click” of your trimming tool hitting the thumbtack, you know you have reached the desired thickness. After defining the foot, trim a fairly deep groove into its base so that the plate can be wrapped with a sturdy wire and hung on a wall if desired (13). Then flip the plate right side up again, remove the tacks, and fill each hole with a tiny bit of soft clay. Lastly, run a flexible rib over all surfaces to smooth imperfections (14).
Surface Decorating
Now the fun begins! Slip trailing is a delightfully forgiving technique. You can explore endlessly on a tabletop or bat until you get the hang of it, then take a deep breath and move on to your plate. When you do make a mistake (and you will), simply scoop up the slip with a soft rubber rib and jump back in again. No one will be the wiser!
The perfect time to slip trail is at leather hard, right after trimming. Whether you make your own slip or buy it, be sure your slip matches the firing temperature of your clay. My trailer of choice is a latex cake-decorating bag. It is supple and reusable, never “burps” and is much easier on my hands than bulbs or bottles. I prefer the smallest decorating tip, so it is crucial to run the slip through a strainer to achieve the consistency of wet sour cream and ensure it is lump-free.
Hold the applicator at a 45-degree angle, squeezing consistently while moving from your arm rather than from your wrist. Allow the slip to trail behind you while taking care not to gouge the clay with the tip of your applicator (15). I apply my slip freehand, allowing my botanical design to spill into the well. I like how breaking this boundary creates lively visual tension. Once the outline of my design is in place, I flood one or two of the flowers with thin porcelain slip so that a single glaze applied over several flowers will result in slightly different hues (16).
Once the porcelain slip is dry and the slip trailing is firm, I use small stamps to give each flower a distinct texture (17). Between the varied textures and the varied hues, my goal is that no single element will catch the eye, but the entire design will capture the subtle variations in nature.
Once bisque fired, I outline the slip trailing with a black stain, then wipe it back, which helps the botanical design to pop. Glaze is only applied within the slip-trailed designs. The remaining surface is left bare, allowing the whims of the soda-firing process to supply the glaze.
During firing, a mixture of soda ash is introduced into the kiln, where it rides the flame through the chamber, creating varying degrees of glaze on whatever vertical surface it touches. But the flame can easily bypass low horizontal surfaces, which is why plates are prone to come out of the firing looking dry or unglazed. To ensure the eating surfaces of my plates are fully glazed and dinnerware safe, I mix up ½ teaspoon (2.8 g) of soda ash dissolved in ¼ cup (59.2 ml) of hot water until cloudy, then give the bisque-fired plate a very light coat to ensure those horizontal surfaces achieve at least a base sheen. To avoid warping, each plate is fired on its own cookie, which I will use multiple times until the cookie itself becomes warped. Small balls of wadding lift the plate off the cookie, so they don’t fuse together during firing (18).
This plate was fired in reduction to a very hot cone 10 and somehow emerged from its chaotic journey free of detritus or debris. Soda firing can be heartbreaking and exhilarating in equal measure, so when I am fortunate to pull a successful plate from the soda kiln, it always emboldens me to head back to the studio and try again.
Lesley Bevan earned her BS in performance studies from Northwestern University. She began pottery 25 years ago while still working full time as an actor/voice-over artist. She lives in Chicago, where she is one half of the founding team behind “Pots to the People,” a grassroots movement to harness the power of our imperfect pots. For more info, visit her website www.lesleybevan.com or explore @Lesleybevanceramics and @pots_to_the_people on Instagram.
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