I Like

 
How exciting! A new technique! Three thousand years old! By the way,it seems to have started in the Middle East- like the wheel ,salt glazing and monotheism.
Survival rate for this first batch was instructive: six bowls made,1 lost in trimming,4 cracked while drying as a result over-zealous terra sig application [next time let it dry between coats] of which 2 were fired together with the 1 surviving whole bowl.One out of six is a low average even by my humble standards,but gives me something to aim at for the next batch.I like the effect very much- the combination of great simplicity [single low fire,no glaze] with surprising sophistication [the deflocculated slip],the soft shine and smooth feel of the pots,the connection both to the ancient potters of this region [and the Greek and Roman empires,and Africa,] and to contemporary potters using this technique like Gabriele Koch,Magdalene Odundo and Tjok Dessauvages [not to mention Israeli potters who have always been drawn to it].
I don't think that this is going to change the direction of my work directly,but it is very stimulating to work simultaneously with coarse-textured clays for the high-temp wood-fire kilns and silky-smooth low-fire electric kiln earthenware.
Just in case anyone reading this is still confused- the shine of the thin layer of terra sig brushed on the [supposedly] bone-dry earthenware comes from the sub-microscopic platelets that comprise the slip lying flat and therefore reflecting light like a mirror.You can see this to a lesser extent in any clay in strong sunlight,but the larger particles and their jumbled arrangement on the clay surface reduces the effect.Tech notes;single firing to 920 degrees.Earthenware clay of unknown provenance [a bag someone gave me,no label].
A part of my satisfaction is that Helen,who knows a thing or two about ceramic technique,was quite mystified by the process,and gratifyingly surprised when she saw the results.I gave her the small surviving bowl to use in our kitchen [I want to see how durable it is] where the competition [especially in the bowl department] is fierce.
Shabbat Shalom,and Tu B'Shvat Sameach!