The true obstacle of ornaments is their weight. I’ve found that using a plaster mold is the easiest way to make a light ornament, happy to hang on any available branch. Slip-casting can feel daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it starts to feel like magic!
My ornament mold is a commercial one that I ordered online (hotcakesusa.com)—someday I’ll get around to making my own mold. Once you have a mold, all you need is some casting slip, high-fire wire, and hanging rods. I prefer alumina rods to Kanthal rods, because they do not warp under the weight of the ornament. Casting slip is also readily available from any clay supplier, or you can easily make your own. Then you’re good to go!
Using a Plaster Mold
Turn your porcelain reclaim into casting slip by mixing in Darvan 811 (just a few drops to a 5-gallon bucket of slip), then sieve using a wide mesh. I like to use my reclaim since it prevents shrink-fit issues with attached clay elements, and I already have it on hand.
Clean your mold of dust or clay with a damp sponge, then secure it with a rubber band. Once the mold is ready, pour your casting slip in and let it set up (1). Depending on the size of the mold, the humidity of your studio, and the thickness of your casting slip, the time may change. For this mold, I leave the slip inside for sixteen minutes. Pour out the remaining slip and wait about 24 hours to release your ornament from the mold.
Cleaning the Ornament
Once the ornament releases from the plaster, take it out and clean the seams from the cast with a knife, then with a serrated rib. Scratch the top of the ornament with the rib, then using some of your casting slip, attach a small triangle-shaped nub to the open top of the ornament to cap it (2). Lastly, clean up the serrated rib marks with a rubber rib dipped in water to make a smooth surface.
Adding Decorative Snowflakes
Roll out a thin slab of clay for your snowflake attachments on a Masonite bat. While the clay is setting up, use a snowflake cutter (purchased online at www.etsy.com) to lightly imprint outlines of a snowflake and where the sprigs will attach. Using a needle tool, score the snowflake imprints (3).
Using the fondant cutter, stamp out the desired amount of snowflake shapes, apply a blue slip over the scored snowflake imprints for visual contrast (4), then attach the snowflake sprigs, making sure each edge is well joined to the ornament.
Next, scratch and attach a small circle cutout to the top of the ornament with blue slip. Using a damp sponge, clean up any excess slip and soften unwanted texture around the top and on the snowflakes.
Finishing Touches
Cut 1½ inches (3.8 cm) of 16-gauge, high-fire wire and bend it over a kiln hanging rod—I use alumina kiln rods (5). Then, pierce the ornament top with the wire, making sure to embed around half of the wire in the clay (see 6).
Add slip-trailed dots of casting-slip clay around the snowflakes for more snow texture.
Using a pin, poke a few holes for air to release while the ornament is drying and firing.
Once bone dry, inlay or wash the surface with a dark blue underglaze to get more contrast around the snowflake and textured areas (6).
Glazing
After bisque firing, paint a clear glaze over the snowflakes by dabbing glaze with a soft brush—it’s okay to go over the shape a bit. Wax over the snowflake shape (7), then paint or dip a blue glaze around the rest of the ornament.
Suspend the ornament by its wire loop inside the glaze kiln using kiln furniture—I balance mine over two kiln posts. Make sure to put a waste piece under the ornament to protect your kiln shelves from potential glaze runs (8).
Be Rose is a full-time studio potter based in Horseshoe, North Carolina. She and her partner run Pink Duck Pottery Studio. She received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design in 2017 and has been a resident at Cub Creek Foundation, Iowa Center for Ceramics & Glass, and Odyssey ClayWorks.
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The true obstacle of ornaments is their weight. I’ve found that using a plaster mold is the easiest way to make a light ornament, happy to hang on any available branch. Slip-casting can feel daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it starts to feel like magic!
My ornament mold is a commercial one that I ordered online (hotcakesusa.com)—someday I’ll get around to making my own mold. Once you have a mold, all you need is some casting slip, high-fire wire, and hanging rods. I prefer alumina rods to Kanthal rods, because they do not warp under the weight of the ornament. Casting slip is also readily available from any clay supplier, or you can easily make your own. Then you’re good to go!
Using a Plaster Mold
Turn your porcelain reclaim into casting slip by mixing in Darvan 811 (just a few drops to a 5-gallon bucket of slip), then sieve using a wide mesh. I like to use my reclaim since it prevents shrink-fit issues with attached clay elements, and I already have it on hand.
Clean your mold of dust or clay with a damp sponge, then secure it with a rubber band. Once the mold is ready, pour your casting slip in and let it set up (1). Depending on the size of the mold, the humidity of your studio, and the thickness of your casting slip, the time may change. For this mold, I leave the slip inside for sixteen minutes. Pour out the remaining slip and wait about 24 hours to release your ornament from the mold.
Cleaning the Ornament
Once the ornament releases from the plaster, take it out and clean the seams from the cast with a knife, then with a serrated rib. Scratch the top of the ornament with the rib, then using some of your casting slip, attach a small triangle-shaped nub to the open top of the ornament to cap it (2). Lastly, clean up the serrated rib marks with a rubber rib dipped in water to make a smooth surface.
Adding Decorative Snowflakes
Roll out a thin slab of clay for your snowflake attachments on a Masonite bat. While the clay is setting up, use a snowflake cutter (purchased online at www.etsy.com) to lightly imprint outlines of a snowflake and where the sprigs will attach. Using a needle tool, score the snowflake imprints (3).
Using the fondant cutter, stamp out the desired amount of snowflake shapes, apply a blue slip over the scored snowflake imprints for visual contrast (4), then attach the snowflake sprigs, making sure each edge is well joined to the ornament.
Next, scratch and attach a small circle cutout to the top of the ornament with blue slip. Using a damp sponge, clean up any excess slip and soften unwanted texture around the top and on the snowflakes.
Finishing Touches
Cut 1½ inches (3.8 cm) of 16-gauge, high-fire wire and bend it over a kiln hanging rod—I use alumina kiln rods (5). Then, pierce the ornament top with the wire, making sure to embed around half of the wire in the clay (see 6).
Add slip-trailed dots of casting-slip clay around the snowflakes for more snow texture.
Using a pin, poke a few holes for air to release while the ornament is drying and firing.
Once bone dry, inlay or wash the surface with a dark blue underglaze to get more contrast around the snowflake and textured areas (6).
Glazing
After bisque firing, paint a clear glaze over the snowflakes by dabbing glaze with a soft brush—it’s okay to go over the shape a bit. Wax over the snowflake shape (7), then paint or dip a blue glaze around the rest of the ornament.
Suspend the ornament by its wire loop inside the glaze kiln using kiln furniture—I balance mine over two kiln posts. Make sure to put a waste piece under the ornament to protect your kiln shelves from potential glaze runs (8).
Be Rose is a full-time studio potter based in Horseshoe, North Carolina. She and her partner run Pink Duck Pottery Studio. She received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design in 2017 and has been a resident at Cub Creek Foundation, Iowa Center for Ceramics & Glass, and Odyssey ClayWorks.
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