Slip Testing

In getting ready for Joseph Sand's kiln firing I made a bottle in order to test some slips in his kiln atmosphere. Normally most of my pottery has turned fairly dark in the reduction, so I put a layer of white porcelain slip as a base all over the bottle. I then carved away at some points to reveal the clay body. Then I painted with cobalt blue slip and a red slip.
The red slip which looks reddish-brown in the photo below turned very brown in the kiln and reacted well to the salt.

Red slip on the flower at the base

Results of the red slip

The blue slip which you can see on the leaves at the top of the bottle worked out really well over the porcelain slip. The blue slip looks purplish-gray in the photo below.

Blue slip looks purplish-gray at the top of the bottle

The blue followed the path of the flame

The carved away area had some nice orange-peeling where the salt glazed the surface.

Overall, the bottle was wonderful, and I was happy with the results. Now to decide whether to hold on to it for a little while or sell it right away!