Ceramic Decorating Techniques

Carving

Materials: carving tools

Process:

• With a carving tool, carve a design by removing clay from the surface of leather hard clay.

Artist Examples:

Mishima

Materials: needle tool, thin paintbrush, underglaze, natural sea sponge

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Process:

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• Draw design into leather hard clay with the needle tool. Try to only scratch the surface of the clay. It is not necessary to carve very deep.
• Paint underglaze inside of the lines. You can use as many colors as you want. You might need to dip your paintbrush in water to help the underglaze sink into the lines.
• Let the underglaze dry completely.
• Use a clean, damp, natural sea sponge to wipe away the excess underglaze. Always swipe with a clean part of the sponge. Don’t use the same part of the sponge without washing it first.

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Artist Examples:

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Paper Stencil

Materials: paper, scissors, sponge, underglaze

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Process:

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• Draw design on paper.
• Make one cut through the edge of the paper and cut the design out.
• You can use the positive stencil or the negative stencil.
• Wet the stencil with a sponge, then press it onto leatherhard clay. Make sure the edges are stuck down completely.
• Paint inside or around the stencil with underglaze, you may need a few coats.
• Remove the stencil.
• Can also be done with vinyl or tape on bisqueware.

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Artist Examples:

Sgraffito

Materials: medium paintbrush, underglaze, carving tool

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Process:

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• Paint the surface of leatherhard clay with underglaze. You may want to do multiple coats. Be sure to let the underglaze dry completely between coats.
• Draw a design with a needle tool or the carving tool.
• Use the carving tool to remove the underglaze and the top layer of clay. It is not necessary to dig deep into the clay.

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Artist Examples:

Slip Trailing

Materials: slip bottle

Process:

• On leather hard clay, draw designs using the slip trailing bottle.
• The designs can be cleaned up carefully with a sponge after they dry to leather hard.

Artist Examples:

Sprig

Materials: spring mold, clay, needle tool, slip

Process:

• Press clay into the sprig mold and remove the clay.
• Score and slip the sprig to a leather hard surface.

Artist Examples:

Stamp

Materials: stamps

Process:

• Press stamps into wet clay to leave an impression. If it is a vessel, support from the inside to prevent warping.

Artist Examples:

Water Etching

Materials: glue resist, sponge, Q-tip

Process:

• With a Q-tip (do NOT use a paintbrush) draw a design onto leather hard clay with the resist.
• Let the resist dry completely.
• Use a sponge to wipe around the resist. This removes the clay from around the resist and creates a raised design under the resist. The more you wipe away, the more raised the design will be. The resist will burn off in the kiln.

Artist Examples:

Combining Techniques

Mishima and paper stencil

Paper stencil and sgraffito

Mishima and sprig