Making Polychrome Pottery, Slipping and Painting

[@AncientPottery]

Follow this little pot through the whole process. Firing video in two weeks (weather permitting)

[@Kusunoky]

Wow i am blessed to find this channel. Thank you sir !

[@AncientPottery]

You are very welcome

[@jackiegrant410]

Hi Andy, thanks again for a fabulous tutorial, full of good information. I can’t wait to try painting my pots, I live near the beach, always collecting stones, now I have another use for them. Just found you on Instagram. 🤗

[@AncientPottery]

Welcome Jackie, glad you found me.

[@leslie-lynnesinkey1225]

I, too was the recipient of one of Matts' marvelous pieces of "beaver butt," and have used it for the #onecoilchallenge bowl I made. I got the fur wet before I dipped it in the slip. Since the point of beaver fur is to keep beavers warm and dry--nature's wetsuit--you could spend forever trying to get it wet down to the skin. I just ran it under the tap and ruffled the fur backwards a couple of times, and that was sufficient. I also used a slightly thinner slip than I normally would--more like the consistency of heavy cream. (I was using Cannonball White).

[@1a1u0g9t4s2u]

Viewing this from the outside, the ancient way of making pottery, applying the slip and painting, then firing appears to be an exercise in patience. During their time and being used utilitarian and fragile in nature they must have been highly prized and cherished possessions. Are there any evidence the technique was keep within a small group of artisans or was the knowledge shared with other tribes/groups? Thanks for sharing.

[@nahidrayat3413]

You are geweldig 🥰 💚💚💚🙏

[@timhorton8085]

Have you tried dipping in a slurry of your slip? I've noticed when wet processing some wild clay, after allowing the clay to settle out of the water and tapping off much of the clear water, that you'll be left with a very even almost paint like substance. At least when dunking my hands in it to give a gentle mix before transferring, it made a very even, thin layer of clay on my hands. Perhaps the ancient technique was to simply dunk a pot down in that material.

[@AncientPottery]

That is one way to make a great slip. But my pottery is all single fired, so I am decorating unfired pots. If you dip an unfired pot in liquid slip it will fall apart because all that moisture will start to rehydrate the pot and it will rapidly expand and crack into pieces. The only way this would work would be if you bisque fired the pot first.

[@vidithoro7175]

Loved the video! Thank you!

[@AncientPottery]

I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.

[@DragonSMP]

Hi Andy, I'm wondering about your polishing stone, is it a stone that has been run through a fine rock polisher, or is it just a smooth river stone? How polished does my polishing stone need to be?

[@AncientPottery]

It can just be a smooth river rock. I have some that I use that I found on a beach in California. Tumbled stones are sometimes easier to acquire though, especially for people who live in a city.

[@DragonSMP]

@@AncientPottery Thank you!

[@meliagentry7890]

Wow! I love your videos Andy! I was so excited when I came upon them, it’s the exact thing I was hoping to find. One question, what exactly is the white paint? Is it a mineral? I remember you said you find it at specific place but just curious what it is and if there is another mineral I could find in my area perhaps (North TX) that would be similar.

[@AncientPottery]

Thanks for the kind words. The white paint is white clay that I collect in northern Arizona. I have spent a good part of my adult life looking for a good white clay and they are few and far between. I don't know much about the clays in north Texas unfortunately. I used to live in Oklahoma and there was clay everywhere there.

[@NoelBelknap]

"i'd buy that for a dollar!" 🤣

[@AncientPottery]

This is an OLD video. I had to rewatch it to see how I used that phrase. Man I had just moved into my current house when this was made and my video production still needed some refining. Kind of fun looking back, like a time machine.

[@ronaldhuffstatler6062]

I'm in Mississippi and how would I get the slips and paints from out west can I buy from you or you know some one I can get some from

[@AncientPottery]

I sell small amounts of white slip on my website. But you can find colored clays all over, not just in the west. I know several potters in North Carolina and Virginia who have clays in all sorts of colors.

[@BurgardPottery]

Love your videos. Sorry if you've covered this already since I haven't gotten thru all your videos. Have you ever tried adding the red color pigment to the clay before you form the pots?

[@AncientPottery]

No, because I collect all my pigment minerals from nature and process them by hand, they are far too precious to mix into the clay. Applying them to the outside as a slip or paint uses far less material.

[@ILiveOnSun]

wow😍

[@nahidrayat3413]

You are geweldig 😘😘😘💚

[@AncientPottery]

I had to look that up to make sure it wasn't something bad. Thanks a lot, I will take compliments in any language, even Dutch.

[@mihailvormittag6211]

👍

[@paigelittle3153]

Have you made a video on how to make the paint from mesquite beans?

[@AncientPottery]

Yes, check this one out kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHXRkJR_gtWBock

[@lorainemacdonald517]

Just meet you tonight! Bing

[@AncientPottery]

Hey there, good to meet you.

[@nedthemumbler9942]

Professional pin stripers use squirrel tail brushes. Research it.

[@jonkholunsingsons8063]

Sir,can I find a clay for pottery in our land of river bank?

[@AncientPottery]

Perhaps. River banks are a good place to look for clay but not every river bank has clay, some just have sand and gravel.

[@BAMBOOM2021]

Have you ever tried poke berry as a paint?

[@AncientPottery]

Poke berries don’t grow in Arizona

[@BAMBOOM2021]

@@AncientPottery Would you try it if you had them? Im from Missouri. We have poke everywhere. Ive saved quite a bit in a 1 gallon jar with alcohol. The main reason i saved them is to stain some of my wood projects purple. My wife said that she wants her whole bed stained with it. So im probably going to need to go get more. If you wanted to try it, i could send you some. But you probably wouldnt want any with alcohol mixed in. Right? Wouldnt that cause it to leach out of bounds?

[@ZaraHaider-d5j]

What paint do you use on pottery?

[@AncientPottery]

In this video I am using organic paint made from boiled down plants, check out this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGKmZ6asj8dsl9k