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Slip And Crochet


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Hi where are you stuck? Are you brand new? Or is it just the process that needs explaining? If you are brand new, you would need to have a place to fire ( kiln) first- because most places that are available to the general public , to "rent" , would require the rentee to use the ceramic shops brand of clay. This is because clay forms ceramics at different temperatures , but can ruin the kiln shelves if melted at too high a temp. So. They don't let people use any clay and fire it for them. So this method looks like it is high fire porcelain, but it might be mid fire porcelain too. Each clay has its own working properties, even within the range of similar clay. So any one attempting to recreate this work , would than likely have to experiment to see what worked for them with the clay they were using.

So if you are new to this, first find someplace that would let you use their kiln. Then purchase their clay. Then crochet a bunch of samples squres( to experiment on). Then look up how to make slip from the clay they gave but be aware that if you add ingredients to make the slip you are more likely than not changing the melting point of the clay. So you could ruin the shelves or have under fired clay.

Then experiment with covering the samples with slip, by first saturating them in slip and then wringing out. Try different thicknesses of yarn , different layers of slip etc. dry thoroughly, bring to the shop to fire. They will bisque fire it first, which means it is ready to glaze but not trully ceramic yet- it be pourous and somewhat fragile. You could test glazes on it or have them fire it to maturity and see what you have. You would have to mark the pieces so you would know which one(s)were the one(s) closest to your vision and that would be your starting off point. Sounds like a lot and it is, but youll have fun getting there! Welcome to clay. Jolie

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i am old enough to have seen people doing this with lace to make dolls.  the heads and arms were cast and the clothing was made from cotton doilies.  dip in slip, let it dry, repeat several times and fire.  i even found one of those old, tall, illustrated art books on how to do it.  the thing i most remember was that it had to be cotton, this was the era of polyester so many people thought cotton was not as good.  funny thing, progress sometimes is not.

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Thank you Jolie! I've been taking ceramic classes for about 2 years now so I'm not a beginner, I just haven't worked with slip much in this way. I've made a bunch of test crochet squares and have some slip made up in the classroom so I will be testing them out this week. Will post pictures on how the process goes! Thank you for all of the information it made me feel a lot more confident about giving it a try!

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i am old enough to have seen people doing this with lace to make dolls.  the heads and arms were cast and the clothing was made from cotton doilies.  dip in slip, let it dry, repeat several times and fire.  i even found one of those old, tall, illustrated art books on how to do it.  the thing i most remember was that it had to be cotton, this was the era of polyester so many people thought cotton was not as good.  funny thing, progress sometimes is not.

 

 

I've seen pictures of dolls like that! They are so amazing. : )

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I've been playing with this technique for a few months. I've found that I can dip the piece once in my cone 6 casting slip and have them survive the firing. However all the spherical forms I've done have had some slumping in the glaze fire. (I'm considering dropping down to cone 04 for these firings since they don't warp at bisque but I want to do more research into the fragility of that firing range). I would definitely recommend firing outside. I recently bisqued 4 of these piece and they created enough smoke to stink up the kiln yard for a good 30 minutes. Definitely keep us posted on how your test go! 

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I've been playing with this technique for a few months. I've found that I can dip the piece once in my cone 6 casting slip and have them survive the firing. However all the spherical forms I've done have had some slumping in the glaze fire. (I'm considering dropping down to cone 04 for these firings since they don't warp at bisque but I want to do more research into the fragility of that firing range). I would definitely recommend firing outside. I recently bisqued 4 of these piece and they created enough smoke to stink up the kiln yard for a good 30 minutes. Definitely keep us posted on how your test go! 

 

Awesome thank you so much. Are you using cotton yarn?

I crocheted a bunch of different items that I plan on testing out tomorrow so I will be able to post an update on them later this week.

Also I would love to see pictures of some of your work :)

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I have done some cotton slip-dip burnout pieces. You get some amazing results. Helpful to use defocculated clay such as casting slip or adding a small amount of sodium silicate to slip. CAD has a good recipe with Paul Andrews Wandless if you want to make your own slip. Also important to get as much slip into the cotton material - really work it in. Don't use synthetic material. 

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I have done some cotton slip-dip burnout pieces. You get some amazing results. Helpful to use defocculated clay such as casting slip or adding a small amount of sodium silicate to slip. CAD has a good recipe with Paul Andrews Wandless if you want to make your own slip. Also important to get as much slip into the cotton material - really work it in. Don't use synthetic material. 

 

 

Thank you! I used a casting slip and will be taking out of the bisque firing tomorrow so I will post pictures on how it went!

I would love to see pictures of some of your stuff!

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I have done similar experiments with sea sponges found on beaches with some success.. thickness/viscosity of hte slip needs a bit of work in my case to grab  the finer texture  of the sponge, also need to work on dryness of the sponge when immersing t o avoid just  a blob of lumpy clay look, still workingon it in the rain, time short here, need to produce known work for the coming season. Finding that balance.. hmmm

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I ran into a couple on vacation who had a small shop, they made things from white porcelain lace. Lamps, switch covers, baskets, picture frames and all sorts of things. It was some of the most beautiful work I had ever seen, but it was not in the budget at the time. I still to this day wish I had bought something. I wish I could remember were the shop was.

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Just a little update... my two test pieces are completely finished now and I'm very happy with how they came out! I've started working on some bigger crocheted items and so far so good! but here's some pictures of my two finished pieces.

tumblr_nmvk8cDWdC1qgf8tqo1_1280.jpgtumblr_nmvk6tRPXe1qgf8tqo1_1280.jpg

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Thought I'd post another update. I've been experimenting a lot and here is a small batch of some of the items I've made lately. They are bisque fired then painted with underglaze and are now ready to be fired! Also a picture of a larger piece I crocheted that is finished!

tumblr_nn8m3h4NiO1qgf8tqo1_500.jpg

tumblr_nn8h67yWau1qgf8tqo1_1280.jpg

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  • 11 months later...

This is what I've been wanting to try for EVER!! Thanks so much for posting your experience and results.

I've had a gallon of Laguna Porcelain Slip sitting in my studio for a few years now (three? maybe even four?) and I'd like to know if I can still use it, and if so, whether I need to do anything to it (like add deflocculant, or whatever).

What I also want to do is coat some sheets of fiberglass mat ( http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Bondo-8-sq-ft-Fiberglass-Mat-20129/202077814?keyword=fiberglass+mat) that I will be forming with, instead of the cotton yarn.

I'm all ears to any words of wisdom.

Thanks in advance!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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