slip · ancient ceramic glaze, iron-rich
the colour after vermilion has dried, the colour after alizarin has
darkened, the colour at the bottom of any liquid that was once vivid and
is no longer. the door of a confessional. the binding of an old book in
library.
it does not call attention to itself. it has the dignity of a colour that
has decided. you find it in the ritual room, on the back of a chair in
vigil, on the rim of a clay vessel that has been in the family longer
than anyone can say.
one of the colours that means "we have done this before."