Observing a ceramics class project at UD, I was impressed to see how faithfully the shapes of leaves were retained pressed into the surface of clay slip before firing. That gave me the idea to see if folded origami pieces could be preserved in clay.
The first issue was to select a paper strong enough to survive dipping into slip – I eventually settled on 96 lb. Bristol board. I used a homemade clay slip supplementing it with paper fiber for workability. Later, I found a standard porcelain slip worked well – adding paper fibers as before.
Folding forms in heavy-weight paper.
I carefully dipped paper cranes in the slip, completed missed areas with a brush, and then allowed the piece to dry. Once hardened, I applied a second coat with a brush and repeated this once more when the layer had dried. Brushing is important – dunking the piece in slip a second and third time causes the origami to slump!
Dipping the birds into clay slip.
I have used a variety of glazes in conventional oxidation and reduction firings (again brushed onto the origami). For raku firing it was impractical to retrieve the fragile red-hot pieces from the kiln with tongs. So a sculpture student kindly made steel perforated baskets with sturdy handles to hold multiple small origami pieces.
I could then maneuver them out of the kiln without damaging their delicate cargo. We later found these metal baskets are convenient for firing a wide variety of raku objects including large sculptures.
The birds after glazing and firing.
A pair of glossy origami balloons.