Historically, pottery in the UK was made by small, rural potteries that were scattered throughout the country. They dug the clay from their own ground and formed it into the rustic wares needed by their local communities.
By the 17th century, potters learned how to use slip as an inexpensive way to decorate their products. Slipware is made using a variety of techniques. Generally, a contrasting colour of slip (watery clay) is applied to a form and then manipulated to create a decorative effect. This decoration can range from a simple band of coloured slip brushed onto a jug to the intricate lines of slip feathering on a plate.
By around 1900, most of the rural potteries had closed down. The development of the Staffordshire potteries resulted in their dominance over much of England. Also, people’s taste changed. They preferred porcelain and creamware over their local earthenware products. Slipware went out of fashion and only a few potteries in Cornwall and Devon carried on the tradition. In the 20’s, Bernard Leach and Shōji Hamada were interested in slipware for a time and brought the technique into studio pottery. It was taken up by one of their students, Michael Cardew, who made some very beautiful work. Today there are quite a few successful potters making slipware.
Slipware revival at the Corner Pottery Workshop!
I love slipware and always teach at least one of its techniques in each of my courses.
January 2023 Course Slipware Project
Our next project is inspired by a quirky item that was popular in the 1800s, commemorative money banks. They were generally decorated with chickens or other birds (nobody knows why) and often a child’s name and birthdate was written on the side with sgraffito. There aren’t many of these old banks around anymore because they had to be broken open to get at the savings.
The money bank is inspiration for this project but you can choose a different form if you prefer. We’ll use red terracotta clay covered by white slip and glazed with a honey glaze. You will need to decorate it with sgraffito plus some sort of sculptural object or one of the techniques below.
Swags, sprigs, ribs & pellets
These are techniques that add a sculptural dimension to the form. Decorative pieces of clay are attached to the form and then the slip is poured over them.
Sprigs
Sprigs are made by pressing a stamp into a ball of clay or pressing clay into a mould.
Swags & Ribs
Swags and Ribs are made with thin coils of clay. Notice that they can also be impressed with a tool to resemble a rope.
Fitch & McAndrew
Fitch & McAndrew
Fitch & McAndrew
Pellets
Pellets are simply tiny flattened balls of clay layered to create an interesting texture.
