FLAT-PANEL SPEAKERS SOUND GOOD, SAVE SPACE--AND DECORATE YOUR WALL
SLIP TRAILING produces a thick, fluid-looking line.
The flow of slip through the tube is only partially
controlled by the hand pressure on the bulb. Once
the tube is down on the surface the continuous flow
of slip leaves no time for pondering. The slip flows
whether the hand moves or not. A quick movement leaves
a thin line, sometimes with skips. Momentary hesitations
are recorded by an extra thickness at the beginning
of a line and where the line doubles back on itself.
The demand of this method for continuous action extracts
from the artist, almost by force, an expression as
personal as handwriting.
WET SLIP TRAILING, a fascinating English slipware
technique, has not been exploited by contemporary
American potters, and yet it seems uniquely capable
of producing a contemporary expression. Its excitement
stems from the lack of all but the most rudimentary
control. One never knows how it will end.
For this bowl, a flat disc of moist clay was laid
on a pallet, white engobe poured over it and allowed
to drain off. On the moist clay the engobe remains
wet and mobile for a long time. Black slip was then
trailed onto the wet surface. A certain distortion
is inevitable as the two slips
