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We all love tools, especially pottery tools, and we normally think about forming when we talk about tools for ceramics, but the most useful clay tools we have, besides our hands, are tools for decorating our ceramic work. A decorative surface, of course, is the first thing noticed about a piece of pottery, and as with all things made by hand, the right tools make all the difference. Ceramic Decorating Tool Techniques: Decorating Pottery with Wax Resist, Slip Trailers, Clay Stamps, and Carving Tools explains those tools in detail and shows you how to use them for the greatest effect for your own ceramic surfaces. Make your own ceramic colored pencils, or try using a combination of dry and wet decorating techniques to get maximum depth out of your work. For a more traditional approach that has your own personal touch, try making your own brushes!

Here’s an excerpt from Ceramic Decorating Tool Techniques Decorating Pottery with Wax Resist, Slip Trailers, Clay Stamps, and Carving Tools to Decorate Ceramics:

Using Image Transfer and Mishima Techniques to Make Drawings on Pottery

by Molly Hatch

Mishima is a traditional Korean slip-inlay technique. The Korean pottery you see with mishima decoration typically use several colors of slip in the same piece. I basically use the same black slip recipe for all of my mishima drawing. I always reference a pattern when I am drawing on my pots and sometimes I use a template to transfer a detail of the pattern.

In this case, I am using the template to transfer the bird in the pattern onto the cup surface. I make my templates by laminating my own drawing of a found pattern. This is helpful if you are trying to make multiples, but still requires a lot of drawing and interpretation because you are drawing on a three-dimensional surface.

A laminated paper template of your drawing can help maintain consistency in a design when transferring images to a set. All of my mishima is done when the pots are a dry-leather hard. Usually they are ready to draw on just after trimming is finished.
Gently wrap the laminated pattern around the cup and use a quill or dull-tipped pencil to trace the image, taking care to position the image exactly where you would like it to be on the cup.
Remove the template to reveal the transferred tracing image. Use the transferred image as a guide for drawing deeper lines into the surface.
After going over the tracing, finish off the rest of the drawing freehand, using the template as a visual reference. You do not need to draw very deeply into the surface for mishima to work. I often feel as though I am just scratching into the surface of the clay.
Brush the surface of the pot with a soft-bristled brush to get rid of crumbs, which could mar the surface.
Apply a layer of stain over the drawing using a wide brush. Once the pot has dried back to the dry leather-hard state and any sheen on the slip has gone, wipe away excess slip from the surface of the pot using a clean sponge. You need to clean the sponge often during this process to avoid streaks on the surface of the pot

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Ceramic Arts Daily is a free online website and newsletter written and produced for the benefit of potters and ceramic artists worldwide. The newsletter features both renowned and emerging artists, their work, techniques and artistic perspectives. Regular features include tips and techniques designed to help every artist expand their skill set and widen their artistic horizons. Ceramic Arts Daily also delivers video tips, in which potters and ceramic artists demonstrate various projects and processes. Think of them as e-workshops!

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Ceramic artists on Ceramic Arts Daily know what ceramic art is all about – from functional pottery to abstract ceramic sculpture. This is about community. You’ll be drawn in by artists’ stories, inspired by their work and find confidence to try some of their techniques. With Ceramic Arts Daily, you’ll learn a little bit of everything. Then you can choose the techniques you enjoy the most to create something new!

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