It's time to talk decorating! If you’re looking to add depth and visual interest to your pottery, exploring different surface decoration techniques is a way to elevate your surfaces and bring a unique personality to your pots.
There are so many different ways to decorate your pots, both during the making process (stamping, texture, etc.), during the leather hard stage (underglaze, slip, etc.), or before the final glaze firing (underglaze, and glaze). Surface decoration on your pottery is a great way to incorporate colour, texture, pattern, or illustration into the work.
To help get you started on your pottery surface journey, I'm sharing a list of my 10 favourite tools for decorating pottery. It's definitely tough to choose just 10!
Note: some of these tools may be out of stock via the linked websites. It’s best to check back with the supplier, or often a good google search will provide an alternative option.
Whether I’m making, or decorating this is a tool that is always in rotation (see what I did there 🤓). Using a banding wheel while decorating allows for a fluid approach for brushwork and applying materials like slip or glaze. It also makes it easy to access the entire piece so you can avoid over handling your work during the decorating process.
You may have noticed that I’m a big fan of incorporating colour into my own pots, and though all of the techniques I use work with any type of underglaze or slips, I really love the vibrant and brushable colours of the Amaco Velvet underglazes. They have a consistent fluidity and a hint of translucency that works well for layering or creating contrast against different clay bodies. A big bonus is that they also have a versatile firing range. While I always recommend that you test things on your own clay body, most of these have a range from cone 04 to cone 10! I also love that you can apply them to your pot at all stages: leatherhard, bone dry, and bisque!
These are a few of my favourite colours:
- Bright Red
- Intense Yellow
- Teal Blue
- Blue green
3. Newsprint
Not to be confused with old newspapers, newsprint is one of my go-to materials for creating unique surface designs. It has a rough texture that absorbs the underglaze nicely and doesn’t delaminate. It acts as both a stamp and a resist when I'm decorating my pottery. In my Layered Surfaces: Integrating Surface and Form virtual pottery workshop, I demonstrate how to work with newsprint cutouts to form patterns and produce layered surface designs.
I like using natural bristle brushes for decorating my pottery as the follicles of the natural hair hold a lot more material than a synthetic bristle brush. This gives me a more consistent application of material. I like to have a bunch of different brushes on the go when I'm decorating, and set aside a handful of designated brushes for each underglaze. Having a bunch of brushes frees up cleaning time in between uses, which means more creativity and a better workflow—a win-win! Natural bristle brushes can be found at most pottery supply stores. These are a couple of my go-to brushes made with goat hair:
- Small Mop Brush ½” - 1”
- Mandalay Goat Hair Hake Brushes 1” - 3” — The large 3” wide size is ideal for applying slip & glaze
The one exception to my natural brush preference is when I'm applying wax resist. A synthetic brush offers more precision when applying wax as it doesn’t soak up the material or fan out as much as natural bristles. I prefer a filbert shape for waxing (a rounded tip).
Highwater Clays makes a wax resist that’s easy to apply, and it works well on all stages of clay. I use wax at both the leather hard and bisque stages, to help control which parts of the pots are absorbing added materials, create contrast in the surface designs, or protect the areas I don’t want decorated. I go over all this in more detail in my Glazing & Finishing Details Workshop.
7. Squeeze Bottles & Underglaze Applicator kits
Using a squeeze bottle is a great way to concentrate and control the application of surface materials (slip, underglaze, glaze, etc.) and can help execute very precise designs. Applicator Kits include a variety of interchangeable tips that will produce different lines —choose your own adventure for your unique decorating needs!
Applicator kits can be found at most pottery supply stores. I often use Xiem’s Precision Applicator set.
8. Grout Sponge
Cut it into smaller pieces, a yellow grout sponge is always handy for wiping the bottoms of pots and keeping tools and surfaces clean. These sponges, which you'll find at most hardware stores, are designed to withstand lots of wiping, so they don't break down as quickly as other sponges.
I make my own texture tools from extruded clay tubes that I carve into and then bisque fire. Texture can bring a lot of depth to clay surfaces and depending on what type of texture you’re looking to add, making your own texture tools can be a great way to put your own personality into the pot. In my Texture Tools virtual workshop I dive into the pottery techniques behind the tools.
Made by DiamodCore, this sandpaper is worth investing in. It lasts a lot longer than your typical sandpaper as it doesn’t disintegrate over time and is extremely durable! It easily removes any sharp ceramic bits, and can be worked into the details or around the pot. #400 #800 #1500 are my go-to grits. Let the tools do the work & save your body the hassle of over exerting itself! The important thing here is to always sand your work wet so as to avoid creating a lot of dust.
Oh, one more favourite is my signature tool. It’s an ‘orange stick’ manicure tool—not as glamorous as it sounds, but a good ol DIY tool or unexpected item can quickly become a beloved studio essential. The shape of the wooden manicure tool is similar to this Dex tool.
Learn more about my process & other tools I incorporate into making on my process page.
Looking to start decorating? Check out my virtual ceramics workshops to learn different decorating techniques!
