My husband and I own a ceramic shop located in Anniston, Al where, myself, my mother, mother-in-law and Miss Elizabeth (aka "The Queen of Mess") use slip to create ceramic bisque pieces. Sounds simple enough... The work consists of taking liquid slip (liquid clay), adding it to a pouring table until the correct consistancy is achieved. Banding a mold to prevent leakage and then filling the mold with slip.

Once the slip has sat long enough to create a thick membrane, the mold is then drained back into the table and allowed to continue setting up. Once the mold is setup, the banding is removed and again the mold is allowed to set for a while. Once the greenware reaches the correct firmness, the mold is opend and the greenware is allowed to continue drying.

When the greenware is firm enough to stand on its own, it is removed from the mold and placed on the drying shelves. Once the greenware is completely dried, it is cleand, which consists of sanding, scraping and sponging off excess greenware.

The finished greenware piece is then placed in a kiln and fired to over 2,500 degrees turning the greenware into ceramic bisque.

This may not be the dirtest job you've ever done but we sure have fun making a mess and would love to have you come set a spell.