The following is a low tech recipe for a white based terra sigillata

XX Sagger Terra Sig Recipe

Water               3000 grams (equals 12.5 cups)

Ball Clay          1500 grams (I use XX Sagger)

Deflocculant   25 grams (I use sodium silicate)

In a 5-gallon bucket, add deflocculant into pre-measured water. Slowly sift in the clay. Mix with a power drill until clay dissolves into water solution. Mix for about 5 minutes.

You will immediately notice the heavy particles sink to the bottom and the lighter particles rise to the top. This is a good time to stick your hand in the mixture and actually feel the layers.  In most recipes, there are three distinct layers with the terra sigillata resting in the middle. My recipes does not produce three distinct layers. This recipe will have a bottom layer of sludge and a top layer which is the terra sigillata. Water will float to the top over the next few days but is meant to be stirred into the solution before application.

I use a small cup to remove the TS from the 5 gallon bucket. No syphoning or tubes; it is “low tech” but it works! Discard sludge from the bottom as it is deflocculated and useless. 

Making Color Pots

Start with the white base and add stains or oxides to create a palette of your own. You can add multiple stains to the white sig base. The combinations are endless.

Liz’s Color to Terra Sigillata Ratio

Add 1 tsp of stain to 1/2 cup of sig. I have found this to be the highest concentration of stain to base needed. Adding more stain did not change the intensity of the color.

The color and sheen of the terra sigillata will be affected by the end firing temperature. Low fire produces waxy, shiny surfaces. Mid-range and high fire produces more matt to dry surfaces.

I fire to a cool Cone 03.

Application

Apply terra sigillata to bone dry surfaces.  Brush three very thin coats with a soft moppy brush.  For a soft sheen, burnish the terra sigillata with a veggie bag before it completely dries.  Work in small sections around the piece. Alternate burnishing tools are soft t-shirts and micro-fiber rags. Burnish pots before terra sigillata completely dries.