How to Create Hand-Drawn Texture Using Craft Foam and a Ballpoint Pen Genie Sue Weppner

Craft foam is a fabulous tool for the clay studio. It can be used as a work surface, as a template for slab-building and much more. Genie Sue Weppner's article in the January/February 2025 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, opened my eyes to yet another great way to use craft foam in the clay studio.

In this post, Genie Sue explains how to use a ballpoint pen, craft foam, and a slab roller to create hand-drawn texture on slabs. Have a look and then try it for yourself! –Jennier Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS. Genie Sue was one of eight winners of Pottery Making Illustrated's latest contest, Extravagance. Each winner has a one-page process article in the January/February 2025 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated. Check them out here! Not a subscriber? Subscribe today!

I love the dynamic effects that glazes make when flowing over texture. I wanted to create my own textures and designs rather than using prefabricated texture tools. I have since discovered craft foam, and I learned to draw on it with a ballpoint pen, which leaves permanent indentations. The organic fluidity of the line drawings I create in craft foam opened a whole new world of designs and patterns for me to create. When I run the craft foam through a slab roller over the clay, it leaves a raised impression of the design. The craft foam can be used repeatedly, allowing me to repeat the design on many forms using many different glazing techniques. This new method of making texture led me to experiment with multiple forms of firing. I love the challenge that raku presents when trying to control the many colors raku glazes can become.