Slip and Shellac Resist

Years ago before I was aware of the dangers of using hot wax I used to do resist "carving" with real paraffin wax. It wasn't until I read about shellac resist a few years ago that I came back to do this type of decorating technique.

The shellac dries quite quickly - in about 15 minutes. By wiping over with a wet sponge you can get relief designs in the clay as the shellac prevents the clay from being washed away. I like to paint an area with coloured slip first and then shellac, so the raised area is a different colour.

I had done some designs with pears, first trying various slips on tea bag rests and then after some sketches on some serving dishes. I use the Bringle slip with 10% black stain and cover it with Fraser Celadon with a bit of stain as well (as per Elaine Coleman's recipe) or just the clear celadon without any iron in it. I don't get a really nice blue nor white colour as I use Harlan House porcelain and it tends to grey the colour a bit, but it is very easy to work with.