Swirls of ombre’ blended slip…
and then some geometric sgraffito carvings.over the top.
A quick textured rim & a layer of clear glaze… voila’!!!

After last week’s demo on “thick slip” with my SURFACE DECORATION class, I’ve continued working on this platter in my studio. Now that it’s leatherhard, I decided to start carving a texture all around the flange of the platter. So much nicer with my favorite DiamondCore Tools carving tool. Crisp, clean edges every time!

Carving some patterns through a layer of white slip. When glazed & fired, the contrast of slip to clay body will become more apparent. Nice contrast to help accentuate the carved patterns!

Nice crisp lines when carving with my favorite tool from DiamondCore Tools!

Bringing out my favorite carving tools from DiamondCore Tools for some fun Christmas tree texturing! Nice crisp cuts with sharp tools… perfect for the glaze to pool & puddle in all the right places!!!

After a quick summer camp demo, Colette took on a fun carving texture challenge… using one of my favorite DiamondCore Tools! Even the older kids appreciate using nicer tools for finer line carvings. And Colette rocked it!!!

Just doing a little more detailing on one of last week’s class demo bowls. We started with an ombre’ slip gradation from black to white slip in class. Then I did a little stamping along the rim. Followed by some carving through the slip using one of my favorite DiamondCore Tools for crisp, clean lines.

So I finally have a “plan”… and I decided that soda-firing would be the better option to finish this amazing platter. My friend Kristen carved the pattern and I don’t want to “glop-it-all-up” with too much glaze filling it in. Instead, I waxed the interior section and then sprayed a thin layer of mustard slip around the rim. Being careful not to get too much in & avoiding drips. I will now let it dry, then bisque it. The wax will disappear from the interior then. I will glaze the center section, and probably do some glaze-inlay around the rim. The soda-firing should help accentuate the carved textures & the colored slip will hopefully pick-up some cool flashing marks during the firing. Fingers crossed… but we’ll need to wait over a month for my next soda kiln firing.

To see more of Kristen Holub’s cool carving technique… follow her on Instagram… @kayhoceramics

I had thrown a large platter for a class demo… and then it “lived under plastic” for a bit too long, getting too dry to stamp. So I gave it to my friend & former student to work her magic on. Kristen has been doing wonderful carving techniques on her pots, but mostly smaller mugs & bowls. I thought it might be fun to challenge her with a larger surface to decorate. And she did NOT disappoint!!! The platter looks AMAZING with her beautiful carvings all around the rim. It’s now back in my studio and I need to figure out where to go from here. To glaze or soda-fire, that is the question…

Check-out more of Kristen’s amazing work on Instagram… @kayhoceramics

Carving another bowl with my favorite DiamondCore Tools! I started with an ombre’ blend of colored slips from blue to white… and then when it was a drier leatherhard, it was time to start carving a pattern through it! Pretty pleased with it so far… and I’m thinking I need to start making MORE of these!!!

My students had a great time with their sgraffito projects last Thursday night. They all realized that the hardest part is making the very first mark carving through the colored slip. It’s like looking at a blank canvas & freaking out just a little about how & where to start. But once they started carving with my DiamondCore Tools … they found out how much fun it was… and how tough it is to stop!!!