Perhaps you've already heard of the "4 S's" in ceramics and are wondering what they're all about. These 4 S's stand for four steps – Score, Slip, Stick, Smooth – which are particularly important in pottery when you want to join two pieces of clay together.
Beginners in pottery classes at Formwerk Berlin often experience the frustrating situation: They enthusiastically shape a handle onto a cup or attach a base – only to find it doesn't hold and falls off during drying. In many cases, this is simply because the joint wasn't properly prepared, for example, because no or too little slip was used.
To prevent this from happening to you, we, as experts from pottery supplies Formwerk Berlin, will show you the 4 S method – essentially the most important rules for joining parts in ceramics .
The four S's in ceramics
A tip beforehand: Make sure both pieces of clay (that you want to join) have the right moisture level (still slightly damp, but no longer soft) and are roughly the same moisture content before you join them. If the pieces are too dry, nothing will stick; if they are too wet, everything will slip around. Now, let's take it step by step:
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Score (roughen the surface): Score both joints well – about 1–2 mm deep – with a potter's needle or knife. This roughening creates grooves in which the slip can adhere. Roughening is important because dry clay does not bond together on its own. The rough grooves provide grip so that the clay glue adheres properly in the next step.
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Slip (applying clay slip): Clay slip – usually just called slip – is liquid clay, a creamy mix of clay and water that acts like an adhesive. Apply a generous amount of slip to one of the scored areas. The moist clay activates the clay surface, making it nicely sticky. It penetrates the previously scored grooves and creates a bond between the two pieces of clay. Without slip, two dry clay surfaces would hardly adhere reliably, but with slip, a stable bond is formed that survives drying and firing.
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Stick (Press firmly together): Now carefully join the two pieces. Press them together evenly and with a little pressure so that the slip oozes out of the cracks – don't worry, that's good. It's important not to rush , but to join the pieces slowly and without haste. The pressure will cause the clay particles of both pieces to interlock. At the same time, you'll press out any air bubbles in the seam, as trapped air could cause problems later. At Formwerk Berlin, we often see beginners being hesitant at first – but don't be afraid to press firmly enough (as long as the clay is leather-hard) so that the pieces truly become one.
- Smooth (seam smoothing): In the final step, you smooth the seam . The excess slip that was squeezed out during pressing is now wiped away and smoothed with a finger or a damp sponge until the joint looks nice and clean. This eliminates any visible transitions, creating practically a single, continuous piece of clay. This smoothing isn't just for aesthetics – it also ensures that no thin ridges of clay or cracks remain that could break during the drying or firing process. In the end, you have a strong joint that's so tight it's as if the pieces had always been one.
Why all this? The 4 S method – Score, Slip, Stick, Smooth (roughly translated as: roughening, slipping, pressing, smoothing ) – is a fundamental principle in ceramics for securely joining separate pieces of clay.
In our Formwerk Berlin community, we teach every newcomer these steps because they prevent countless beginner problems. If you follow them, handles, decorative elements, or attached shapes will be much more stable on your ceramic projects, saving you a lot of frustration. Practice makes perfect: at first, it might seem like "a lot of work for a small connection," but believe us, it's worth it.
So always scratch, smear, press and smooth – then your work will stand together securely, and you can be proud to be part of our pottery community!
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