Using a Grid to Transfer Patterns to Round Pottery Ali Schorman

If you've ever struggled with transferring a pattern from a piece of flat paper onto a curvy piece of pottery, I have good news for you! In today's post, an excerpt from the July/August 2024 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, Ali Schorman explains how to methodically transfer complicated designs to a cup using a grid system with a laser level. She also demonstrates her carving techniques, and a genius way to smooth out sharp carved edges. –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS. To learn how Ali slip casts her cups, and how she adds dimension through slip trailing, check out the full article from the July/August 2024 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today!

Transferring the Design

Planning a complicated design on a three-dimensional form is greatly simplified by marking a grid onto which the drawing can be transferred. Center the form upside down on a banding wheel with a DiamondCore Tools trimming spinner disk centered on top. Line up a vertical laser level with the desired demarcation on the disk—in this case, the form is divided into twelve sections. Using food coloring on a fine brush, follow the laser to make a vertical line (1). I use food coloring because it is easy to apply and see, doesn’t leave behind scratch marks, and burns out in the bisque firing. Continue until all vertical lines are in place. To make evenly spaced horizontal lines, a scrap of paper is folded into four sections, which are then marked on the piece (2). With a steady hand and a spinning banding wheel, paint on the horizontal lines where marked. 

When planning designs for my pots, I draw in a bullet journal with dots placed on a grid. I draw dots on the initial design that will correspond to the grid laid out on the pot, simplifying the transfer of the design onto the voluminous form (3). I then paint the design onto the form with food coloring (4). 

Carving and Carving Tools 

To prepare the piece for carving, gently stuff it with plastic bags and a foam circle cut to fit within the rim. This stabilizes the form and the rim to prevent cracking and warping. 

I use DiamondCore Tools’ P1 Carver tool exclusively to carve. This is mainly because the Glacier White casting slip, although beautifully white and translucent when fired, is not very plastic in its leather-hard stage and needs a very sharp tool for a successful line quality. Carve the piece while it is leather hard, following the lines painted on in the previous step. A little practice is essential to get a feel for how the tool performs with your clay body. Use an even pressure to lightly drag the tool across the surface of the clay, using a spare finger to stabilize your hand against the pot and pivot when the line curves (5). Starting and ending each stroke with lighter pressure gives an elegant line quality, and moving the piece with your supporting hand as you carve aids in a more fluid gesture. Training your eye ahead of where you are carving helps keep the tool on track. After completing your carving, use a damp paintbrush and white Mudtools’ sponge to clean up any remaining clay burrs and soften carved lines (6). 

Ali Schorman works as a glaze tech and arts educator at the Mesa Arts Center. She earned a BFA with a concentration in drawing from Arizona State University in 2002. She lives with her husband and two boys in Chandler, Arizona. To see more of her work, visit alischorman.com or follow her on Instagram @ali_schorman.