Slip Casting Classes have started in Ceramic

I have started teaching slip casting. I am so excited to share what I have learned and the art I will continue to learn and share. While it is not hard, it is time consuming so just developing project classes was hard. My first class on Wed. night is full. Yea. I also have one on Friday at 11:30 am. I’ll be at the space all day Wed. and Fri. so stop by ceramics and let talk slip casting!! Diana

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Awesome! If you find yourself drifting towards staining your slip, I have a big time, cost saving recommendation:

Their prices are significantly lower than anywhere else we’ve looked and their selection is superb.

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I am registered for Slip Casting on 10/16! Really excited! Question: what is the turnaround time on the piece drying to greenware, my getting it cleaned, and then having it fired to bisque? I noticed that there is a Glazing class the following week. Is that enough of a time window or do I need to be on the lookout for something further into the future? (I don’t really have any ceramics experience past coil pots in middle school art :slight_smile: so I have no idea what dry times are.) Thanks!

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I can’t answer to the process time on the slipcasting, but kiln turn around is highly variable depending on the volume and types of work on the shelves. Which is very high right now due to lots of classes (yay!), the start of the Christmas push (yes, already), how long it is taking pieces to get dry (slower when cool and humid), and the size/shape of the piece (large and/or awkward pieces will take longer to fit into firings). If the planets come into alignment, a one week flip for finished green to bisque is possible, but a more safe estimate is two (to three, if large/weird) weeks at this time.

All that said, there are options:

  1. We have some leftover bisque from Open House that you are welcome to glaze. There is a suggested price on the bottom (all very, very cheap, sub $5 options) and you can drop a payment into the black box next to the glaze. If you go this route, I recommend checking them out soon, selecting, paying and taking home until class. Good option for learning skills before tackling your personal piece.

  2. Put a (big, noticeable, friendly!) note on your greenware with the date of your upcoming class and, /if possible/, kiln loaders will attempt to help you out.

  3. Also, check with your instructor! It’s possible they are intending to do a special firing of class pieces. This may already be arranged.

Also, welcome to DMS Ceramics! We have a monthly Clay ‘n Coffee pottery/social shindig that is a fun and casual way to connect with our ceramics community, we’ll be talking mugs at the November meetup.

Not that I’m an expert on slip-casting, but I’d think that you can do your trimming/cleaning the next day. My take is that it just needs to be dry enough that it holds its shape as you hold/work it. Whether that’s actually dry enough to make it into a kiln, I can’t say.

To some extent it will depend on the thickness and the weather

When I did slipcasting I tended to pour thin and could trim the next day

Now if the is real humid it may take a little longer If you pout something that is thinck it
may take a little longer

Would love to do slipcasting. I have a few ceramic high voltage insulators I would like to replicate and make at different scales. They do not have to work just look the part of Frankenstein’s Lab.

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Thanks for sharing this! I had no idea you could pigment the clay before casting, good to know. AND they have sparkly stuff!

I’m also taking the class next week. Does anyone know if the baby head mold is around?

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You can and it can really add to the creativity when doing slipcasting. You can also pour layers of color and then carve through to expose them. Fair warning, a lot of ‘sparkle’ options require very low firing temps to preserve the effect (our standard firings are 05/04 and 6). We can do one-off firings to other cones, but you would need to have a decent volume of work to schedule a personal firing.

The good news, lots of us like to experiment and are willing to help fill out a load for the small kiln! If there is something aberrant you want to do, let us know and we can see about gathering up a group.

Fantastic, thank you! also, you get bonus points for the use of “aberrant”!

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Pretty sure I saw the creepy baby head last friday

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You’ll need to slip cast a plate too and attach the baby head to that if you want to make a planter. Here is a work in progress photo (greenware) of tiny succulent planters that I made. If you want to carve out the eyes it can be a tea light holder. These molds are not at DMS but there should be one baby head mold there.

Thanks Julie! I was planning on making a lamp out of it so the plate shouldn’t be necessary. I’m also hoping (fingers crossed) that we have a flesh tone and a blood red glaze… for reasons… spooky reasons…

If not, I may need to look into getting some.

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You can always do this using an underglaze. I am pretty sure that Trinity has a flesh color and several reds. I don’t know if those colors are at DMS. :slight_smile:

Also - future succulent planter if it arrives in one piece and I can find a plate mold that will work.

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I missed this - if you’re interested in slip casting with colored clay check out https://www.facebook.com/pg/forestceramicco for examples of pigment added to the slip. It makes slip casting a lot more fun.

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That stuff looks amazing, thanks Julie!

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The Stroke-n-Coat Hot Tamale is a pretty bright red. We’d don’t currently have a glaze that I’d categorize as “flesh tone”. The orange is pretty dang orange. There’s a bright yellow (Glo-worm?) and a Butter Yellow.

Even you use the Cone 6 slip (mid-fire) as opposed to the Cone 04 slip (aka low fire), I’d still stick with the Stroke-n-Coat glazes. They are a pigment glaze (slightly more pastel when painted on than when fired, but stay the same color otherwise). Most of them (read note at bottom of label) don’t fade when they’re fired to Cone 6 (mid-fire). The Amaco Potter’s Choice are chemistry glazes. They have variety, and they’re usually designed to “slide” a bit. In other words, they don’t just stay where they’re put, and they can yield a range of colors. Plus, they paint on a completely different color. Any glaze that has iron oxide (rust) in it will look red. Depending on the other chemicals/metals in the glaze, it may be blue, or purple, or brown when it’s fired.

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thanks Beth! Excellent information :slight_smile:

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Since we seem to be doing Glazes 101, I don’t understand the term underglaze. Is that just a glaze layer under a clear coat?

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