Fallon Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 I recently saw this post and fell in love! http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-art-and-artists/ceramic-sculpture/making-delicate-porcelain-sculpture-with-porcelain-slip-and-flaxed-paper-clay/ I am interested in combining crochet with slip but have no idea where to even start or what the best way to do it is. I would appreciate any advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolieo Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 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. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethThetus Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccacatterall Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccacatterall Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 you might also want to try paperclay defocculated slip with a thicker yarn....just a thought, no idea how it might turn out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 Heres a picture of two of the pieces I dipped the other day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRankin Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 When the cotton material burns away doesn't it leave holes, craters or explosive looking areas? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 nope, it looks like lace, but hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 So I pulled two of my pieces out of the kiln today and they turned out awesome! Thank you everyone for all the advice. Here are pictures of my pieces glazed and ready to be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 finished? or another firing coming up? please more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mug Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 finished? or another firing coming up? please more details. It has only been bisque fired so far. It's being loaded in the kiln to be fired to cone 6 today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted April 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cf66 Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 will fiberglass absorb the slip? it is glass, not cotton. cotton works. how are you improving on the original? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Ann Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 Fallon, those are great thanks for sharing! Jolie, thanks for sharing the process I might give it a try one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 have to say that is a great use of colored slip. makes and colors the product in one shot. love the booties! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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