Tools and Workstation
Tools
1. Good Lighting
2. Magnifying Lens - I use both a headset and a
flexible stand-alone
3. Small detail carving tools and a 1" stiff brush
4. Spray Bottle
5. Burnishing Tools - I use a smooth rock and
small wooden tools
6. Sponge and Dish
7. Cloth to wipe hands and tools
8. Extra Clay
9. Plastic bags
10. Box to hold piece while working on it
The best thing that I have found to cradle my pieces as I work on
them is a plastic container stuffed full of plastic bags. The bags
are a soft cushion that won't draw out moisture from your piece
and the container is a sturdy holder that is easy to move around.
The individual bags are easy to stuff here and there as you need
them for cushioning and when you're not working on the piece,
you can take a bag or two and wrap the whole thing up.
Note: What you don't see in the above picture of my station is a pole lamp, with 3
spotlights, on my left side. Good lighting is important when doing design work so
that shadows are not hiding areas that you need to see. Lighting coming from all
directions is also good for even drying. As you are working on your piece, it is
exposed to both air and warm light which promotes drying. Keep a good watch on
your drying. If your piece is drying faster than you would like, spray water on it with
your spray bottle and then wait until the water soaks in before continuing. You also
don't want the top of your piece drying faster than the bottom. Work around your
piece as you go so that one area doesn't dry while your working on another.
I like to burnish my pieces for
several reasons: It strengthens the
pot by condensing the clay; it will
smooth out any rough spots or
blemishes and gives my pot an
overall healthy look; and, because I
like to add oxide stains to my
designs, a burnished surface will
not hold the stain like a raw
surface would.  These pictures
should show you the difference
between a burnished pot and an
non-burnished pot as well as the
two methods that I use to burnish
my pieces - a small polished rock
and small wooden tools.
Transferring Your Design
Once you have chosen a design and manipulated it to the size that you need it to be (please obey all
copyright laws), I use a stylus tool to outline my design. There is no need to adhere the paper to your
piece. Once you start outlining, the paper will stick to the damp clay automatically. When you are done
outlining your design, you can remove the paper. The imprint of your design should show on your piece.
This will be the template from which you will work from. It does not have to be perfect.
The Layering Process
Look at your design and decide what parts of the design will be in what layers. What parts do you want to
be recessed and what parts do you want in relief. I knew that I wanted the grapes to be the focal point of
the design so I wanted them to be the highest (3rd) layer. I actually wanted them to look and feel like
grapes. I wanted the leaves to look like leaves so they would be in relief as well but not as much as the
grapes - they would play second fiddle to the grapes (2nd layer). The stems needed to connect the
elements so they needed to be in relief as well but more as background noise not the main player (2nd
layer as well). Last, but not least, I wanted the tendrils to be way in the background. They would be
recessed (1st layer). Now that I knew how I wanted it to look, I could begin working on it. Like a painting, a
layered design needs to be worked from the lowest layer to the top so I started with the tendrils.
First Layer
Using my stylus tool, I carve the tendrils into
my piece. I run the stylus along the outline,
digging into the clay a little. This will leave
curled up clay along the edges. I brush these
away and burnish the area. Burnishing will
close up the carving a little so I run the stylus
along the outline again. Brush again and then
burnish again. I keep doing this until the
recessed design is clean and smooth.
Second Layer
I roll a slab about 1/8" thick
and using the same design I
outline just the parts that I
want in the second layer. I
remove the paper and,
using a fettling knife I cut
them out. I then wet my
piece with a damp sponge
and taking the cutout
pieces, lay them on the wet
clay surface, using the
template as my guide, I
press the cutouts to my
piece with my fingers. I then
go over each cutout with a
wet brush to clean up the
edges and to make sure
they are securely in place. I
then burnish the cutout and
around the edges with my
wooden tools and add any
design element I want to it.  
I follow the same steps
when I add the stems. Only
instead of cutting out a
design, I just rolled a few
coils. Keep your cutouts
from drying as you work by
storing them in a plastic
bag until they are needed.
Third Layer
To do the grapes, I made a coil and then sliced the coil into pieces the size I
wanted the grapes to be. I rolled each piece between my fingers to make a
ball (grape) and attached them as I went. To attach them I first wet the area
on my pot where I wanted the grapes and started layering the balls by
pressing them onto the wet template using my thumb. I have about 4 layers
of grapes, each layer slightly bigger than the last and pressing more into
the center leaving the outside of the grape as round as possible the higher
I went. Once they were all attached I then went in and rounded each ball
using 3 different little tools, filling in cracks and crevices as I went.
Finishing
To finish, burnish everything as best you can; the grapes, around the edges of your cutouts, the
recessed tendrils, etc... Bisque fire and then brush on your stain - make sure you get stain deep into the
cracks and crevices. When you are done wipe off as much of the stain as possible with a damp rag
leaving the unreachable stain in the recessed areas of your design.
Burnished
Unburnished
Bradley's Pottery
Let's Learn - Relief Design
Find a Potter,
Pottery Studio or
Ceramics
Information Near
You at
PotteryFinder.com
© 2006
Preparing Your Surface
Applying a Relief Design