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Making Activities Project One for Schools with Ceramics Facilities: Decorating with Slips Suitable for Key Stage 2 and up (though it is recommended to work in small groups for Key Stage 2) Overview Slip is a wonderful decorating medium. It is a great way of introducing colour on ceramics without the need for lots of different glazes – you can just use a transparent unleaded glaze over the top - and so is ideal for schools. It is very like paint in its behaviour and application, and many of the traditional decorating techniques such as stencilling, sponging and marbling can be used. Unlike glaze, once dried, it stays where you have put it and doesn’t melt or run, and the colours don’t change much during firing, so you have a fairly good idea of how it will look when finished at the time of application. This is very helpful when working with children. (A slip is just clay mixed with water. A decorating slip is clay mixed with water with some sort of colouring agent added.).   Materials / Tools needed Sturdy Tables Wooden boards(not varnished) / cloths for rolling out on Rolling pins / Guide sticks Soft paint brushes Clay – ideally red earthenware Decorating slips Transparent glaze, preferably earthenware - lead free Kiln General pottery tools Slip trailers - optional Pencils, paper, scissors etc