74. 13 Best Tips for Making Casting Slip in Pottery
Oxford Clay Podcast
Episode 74. 13 Best Tips for Making Casting Slip in Pottery
Making your own casting slip can save money and be more environmentally friendly.
CO2 is saved from transporting powdered ingredients rather than the water present in ready-made casting slips. In addition, Potters can control exactly what ingredients they are using, sourcing ones mined in areas of high regulation.
Making casting slip is also really fun, especially when you see the magic of how a deflocculant works to make the clay runny!
You can find an eco-conscious casting slip recipe in the book: Eco-Friendly Pottery
I learned to make my own casting slip from books, YouTube videos and a lot of trial and error! In this episode, I tell you about the 13 top tips I've learned over this time:
Wear an FFP3 Facemask when working with powders
Use a plastic gardening scoop to measure out powders
Keep powders in a metal bin with a lid, on a wheeled platform for manoeuvrability
Use rainwater
Use paper in slip to add strength to your work
Use a recipe with ball clay to add strength to your work
Weigh out the deflocculant onto the paper you’re adding to your slip (no washing up spoons!)
Use a hand stick blender to blend the water, paper and deflocculant first, before adding to the dry ingredients
Make up small amounts of slip each time (5ltrs) to minimise the risk of over-deflocculation
Use a paddle mixer to mix slip
Use a silicone spatula
Always sieve slip before use (even if washing the sieve afterwards is annoying!)
To make the slip more runny, try adding water first, before adding any more deflocculant!
Submit a pottery question to the podcast:
Get your pottery question answered on the podcast!
Submit your pottery question to the Oxford Clay podcast by emailing your question to: info@oxfordclay.co.uk with the subject line ‘Podcast Question’.
