This tea bowl is a beauty. I love the soft gray and the complimentary iron red coloring.
The colors came from a slip applied to the clay when it was leather hard. When the slip dried to the touch I carved the grass motiff marks through the slip and into the clay body. Once the pot was bisque-fired I glazed it with Paul Soldner's Clear Raku Glaze.
The gray color looks just like the ancient Japanese Shino called Nezume Shino (mouse gray).
I found the slip recipe on the internet when I was researching Shino.
John Baymore Shino Slip: EPK 25, OM4 25, G200 Feldspar 20, Flint 20, Borax 5, Zircopax 5, Add: 9% RIO and 0.25% Cobalt Carb.
In the original post I found on the internet it said that the slip would turn shino you put over it blue and that it works well with "Linda's Pink Shino." I've had the recipe for a couple years but just recently found a post on Potters.Org from John Baymore regarding this recipe. He said there's no big magic in the recipe and in fact, it isn't even his recipe. He found it in the book Clay and Glazes for the Potter by Rhodes. Whoever the source, this is a great slip for cone 10 stoneware and looks to have a lot of potential for Raku fired pottery. I can't wait to try it again.
A couple other notes: I found a studio to rent about 5 miles from my house. I started moving stuff into it a couple weeks ago and fired up the raku kiln last weekend. If all goes well I'll move an electric kiln and a wheel into it this weekend. Also I've been invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Viroqua Empty Bowls Project. The first one was held last October, I believe. There is an organizational meeting tonight in Viroqua at the Drifless Cafe. Stay Tuned. More to Come.
