Layer by Layer: Texture Techniques for Rich Pottery Surfaces with Dawn Candy

Using slip trailing, wax resist, and sgraffito to build layered surfaces

In this virtual workshop, Dawn Candy will demonstrate the variety of ways that texture can build surface on your pots. The focus is on rich, tactile surfaces you can see and feel, developed through layering and a mix of additive and subtractive techniques.

Dawn will start by demonstrating each technique on its own: slip trailing, dry brushing with slip, resist techniques, water abrasion, and sgraffito. She’ll also share variations within each one, showing how versatile these processes can be. 

Additionally, she’ll demonstrate how you can combine these techniques, and talk through the questions that come up along the way. How do you build a composition when you’re working with several techniques at once? What changes when the piece needs to be functional? And how do you leave room for spontaneity, so your surface responds to the pot in front of you instead of a fixed plan?

This workshop is designed to spark your own creative thinking and problem solving, and to help you spot opportunities to bring these techniques into your own aesthetic.

This workshop is perfect for makers who:

• Want to bring more creative thinking and spontaneity to their surfaces
• Are curious about combining several techniques on one pot, and how to make those choices work together
• Want to add raised, tactile texture to their work
• Are ready to explore new ways of working with slip, including water abrasion, dry brushing, and more
• Enjoy problem solving with multiple materials and techniques
• Like the idea of playing with both additive and subtractive elements on a single surface

You’ll leave with:

• Confidence combining techniques to create your own surface designs
• A deeper understanding of composition and design principles for decorating
• Several approaches for creating raised texture
• A foundation for bringing these techniques into your own style

Ready to level up your decorating game? Join this workshop and learn how to create surfaces that beg to be touched and examined. 

Live Workshop Details

Date: November 11, 2026
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM Eastern 
➡️ convert to your timezone here

Can’t make the live session? Don’t worry! You’ll have access to the workshop recording for 90 days from purchase date and can watch it as much as you like during that time.

Scholarships: A limited number of 50% off scholarships are available to those from equity-denied groups (BIPOC, 2SLGBTQI+). Register with the code CLAY50 at checkout to redeem. 20 scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

What students say about learning with Dawn

“Dawn’s enthusiasm for the process was infectious and her generosity was pretty astounding.” Shaine

“It was soooo smooth, clear & fascinating. Dawn’s style of teaching was stellar and easy to follow.” Laine

"Thanks so much for this workshop, it was fabulous! Discovering these new techniques has put me on a new personal path.” Paula Kehoe

Do I need to have taken Dawn’s previous workshop?

Not at all. Layer by Layer, and Building Depth (Dawn's previous workshop), are both standalone workshops, so you can take either one on its own. Together, they complement each other well: Building Depth covers a wide range of surface options, mostly with underglaze, while Layer by Layer focuses on texture, introduces new techniques, and spends more time applying them to real pots.

➡️ Check out Building Depth, Dawn’s previous workshop

About Dawn

Dawn Candy is a visual artist and educator based in Red Deer, Alberta, where she makes her pottery and teaches community art classes. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Lethbridge, where she studied analytic philosophy and religious studies, and her diploma in Visual Art from Red Deer College. Dawn brings a thoughtful approach to her work, creating surfaces that capture movement and depth through layered decoration. Inspired by folklore, ritual and superstition, her pottery explores how we perceive and interpret the natural world through that storytelling lens. Through her teaching, Dawn shares how slip, underglaze, and resist techniques can transform surfaces from flat decoration into dimensional, tactile experiences.