How To Use Pottery Carving Tools

Making small pinch pots requires minimal space few tools a small place to let the pots dry a small kiln and some glaze.

How to use pottery carving tools. 4 Apply a dot of Grolleg porcelain slip made from the same clay body with a slip-trailing bottle. ClayMake sure the clay item is leather hard and not too dry but hard enough to hold shape when pressure is applied. Wider and deeper carvings may result in cracks between the body and engobe.

Molds can be bought from ceramic supply stores or made from plaster if a special design is required. Some straight lines such as the window shapes are carved without lines by using the width of the tool as a guide figure 6. What you need will depend mostly on how you make your pottery.

The carving tips can be very sharp so it good to use caution when carving. I use a small block of clay to support my sgraffito tools. An office staple is easy to bend into a small clay loop tool.

Drill into the clay by hand with drill bits of various sizes 5 6 to create circles that are recessed into or pierced through the clay wall. Carving starts with tracing transferred lines with a needle tool to make them deeper. Dry the tool in an upright position for 12 hours.

Avoid dropping these tools on hard surfaces as they may break. When complete clean thoroughly with a dry brush. This video includes satisfying videos of pottery such as carving clay painting.

Note that Gorilla Glue expands while it dries. To apply raised dots of equal shape and size first stamp a circle into the clay 3 then apply a dot of porcelain slip made from your clay body with a slip-trailing bottle 4. Never push hard or lean on a carving tool or put a poorly controled tool inside a hole 99 of breakages happen in these cases.