I have been watching videos of potters doing a ceramic technique called Mocha Diffusion. It looks so cool. I had to try it.

A ceramic stain is mixed with an acid-base liquid such as tea, tobacco, or Listerine for colour. A drop of it is dripped onto greenware pottery covered with an alkaline clay slip. A chemical reaction happens, and trees or stars magically grow.

My first few attempts didn’t spread very well. They became abstract designs instead of trees. It definitely didn’t look like other potters’ trees. Why didn’t mine work?

I bought instructions for this technique. I found my problem. I was using a porcelain slip, which has acid in it. I needed an alkaline stoneware clay slip for the acid-base colour to create a chemical reaction, not 2 acid bases. I made slip from stoneware clay, and it worked. My stars grew on these flower ornaments. I can’t wait to make cups and bowls for trees to grow on.

When they are finished, I will have them for sale on my Etsy site and in my shop here. In the meantime, check out my other pottery by clicking on the buttons below.

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