Clay carving

You could call this technique the advanced form of the sgraffito technique.

While sgraffito involves scratching away a layer of engobe, you can also carve away entire slices of clay from your piece to create an interesting relief. The advantage is that you often don’t need to extensively glaze your work.

Carving symmetrical shapes does require some preparation. It is best to outline what you are going to do. You can do this with an ordinary pencil, because those lines will simply burn away in the kiln. Just make sure that the object you are going to carve has a thick enough wall, because otherwise you might end up going through it…

Can’t see the examples? Check out the board on Pinterest.

Check out all of the online courses we offer and dive into the world of clay!

Discover more blog posts here

Filing up the ceramic kiln
Articles
Nele

Is my pot ready to go into the kiln?

A piece of pottery is ready for the kiln once it is completely dry. In this article, you’ll discover why this is so important, how to tell if it’s dry

A large quantity of wooden letters for stamping on ceramics
Techniques
Nele

Stamping

Many ceramicists use a stamp to mark their work.

Een taart schaal van keramiek met daarop een cake versiert met frosting en oranje bloemblaadjes
Shapes
Nele

The cake stand

A cake stand? An ideal clay creation to brighten up your next party.

Download the free beginner's guide

Start out with ceramics

A handy 27-page PDF with everything you need to know to get started with everything clay.

Enter your details below and you’ll get the guide in your mailbox! You sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter full of ceramic goodies as well.