18 
KERAMIC STUDIO 
POTTERY CLASS 
Frederick A. Rhead 
SLIP PAINTING IN LIGHT AND SHADE 
HAVING laid stress on the necessity for keeping the 
clay in good condition, i. e., sufficiently damp; and 
again insisting on the absolute need of keeping the ground 
color thick enough as well as the substratum of applied 
decoration, we will deal with the treatment of slip colors 
in light and shade. The term "natural painting" is not 
used, because, owing to the limited palette of clay colors, 
and also to the fact that the intention should not be to pro- 
duce a picture, but a piece of pottery, a certain decorative 
character should always be present in the design. The 
method of execution is similar to that of oil painting, but 
the superimposed glazes (especially the yellow glaze) make 
it possible for the merest amateur to obtain a depth and 
richness which only the most talented workers in oil can 
achieve. The operator will find it convenient to have two 
slabs of fair dimensions; one for grinding the slips with a 
muller (for the finer they are ground the easier will be the 
work and the better the ultimate result). The other slab 
should be used as a palette and the colors arranged in the 
following order: Black, Dark Blue, Tight Blue, Choco- 
late, Red Brown, Tight Brown, Dark Green, Olive Green, 
Orange, Yellow, White. 
The ground may be either sprayed, dipped or sponged. 
The sponged ground yields the best results, as graduated 
and shaded effects are most readily obtained by this method ; 
and as the atomizer, with the necessary power required 
for its use, is not at the disposal of the average operator, 
and as dipping calls for considerable practice and skill, 
sponging is perhaps the best process to adopt for ordinary 
use. The slip should be of a pretty thick consistency, 
considerably thicker than cream. The first coat should 
be applied with a large brush, so that all interstices and 
crevices are covered. Then, when the surface is dried to 
the same state as the body of the vase, a second coat must 
be applied with a fine sponge, which is dipped in the slip, 
and dabbed evenly over the piece to be decorated. The 
sponging gives a slight texture to the surface, somewhat 
resembling that of rough drawing paper, which is very 
helpful to the painter in the succeeding stages. After the 
second coat, the thickness of the ground may be tested by 
scraping away a very minute portion with a modelling tool, 
or the end of a penknife. It should not be less than | inch 
in thickness. If right, the small hole caused by testing 
can be filled with a brush; if not sufficiently thick, sponge 
another coat. A shaded, or graduated ground can be ap- 
plied by sponging a dark color at bottom and a light color 
at top (or vice-versa), overlapping and softening them 
together in the middle. The piece is now ready for paint- 
ing. The design may be sketched on the surface with a 
water color brush and any vegetable color, or it may be 
transferred from tracing paper by lightly passing a soft 
lead over the lines, which gives a light indentation in the 
surface sufficient for a guide. The ordinary methods em- 
ployed in oil painting are the best to use in slip painting, 
as, for example, it is best to begin with the darks and paint 
up to the lights. Again, as in oil painting, the shadows 
and darks should be generally comparatively thin and the 
lights thick. The darks must not be too thin — they must 
always be solid, but the lights may be piled on fearlessly, 
and (as in the edge of a ! ower or wing) the slip may be 
modelled to a sharp ridge. For this purpose, the slip should 
be very stiff — half way between "slip" and soft clay. Flat, 
