Chattering is a decorative technique that removes divots from the leather-hard surface of a clay wall. A tool shudders from resistance as the wheel spins quickly to form a repeating pattern. Chattering is a fun and interesting way to elevate a form by adding visual movement and texture. 

Chattering in History 

Chattering allows for quick decoration over large areas with little effort and does not deform the shape of the pot. 

Koishiwara ware is an example of chattering used for decoration. Produced in Koishiwara, Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan, chattered pottery is still popular in current practice. These wares, ranging from lidded vessels to dinner plates, are coated in a slip of a contrasting color and manipulated to reveal a pattern. The metal chattering tool leaves sharp, dotted markings with a uniform rhythm. Japanese Onta ware from Ōita Prefecture, also employs the chattering technique, or tobi-ganna. Again, slip can be used on the surface to create contrasting colors, while other pots have translucent glazes that break over the texture. 

Jaye McKenzie-Clark’s 2015 article in the American Journal of Archaeology describes how chattering appeared on black-slipped Greek pottery as early as the 5th century BCE. Roman potters used red slip or Italian terra sigillata. This article goes on to suggest chattering was an efficient and creative way for potters to hide flaws in the surface, such as scuffs from stacking pots or undesired roughness. 

1 The three tools I use to chatter most often: L-shaped tools with angled or rectangular heads.

Tools 

To find chattering tools, search for generic “stainless steel pottery trimming tools” online. You will find tool sets with black rubber handles, and these tools are quite large and sturdy. They can create deep, dramatic grooves. There are also a few tutorials online for making your own tools. 

Hsin Chuen Lin (sawfish-endive-kgks.squarespace.com) is a contemporary ceramic artist who makes beautifully chattered pots. He also sells his own patented handmade chattering tools in his Etsy shop. These tools are more expensive but are a good investment due to their quality. 

I primarily use three tools in this order of frequency of usage: First is the longest L-shaped tool from the set with the black rubber handles, which features an angled edge so you can use just the point of the edge. This is good for deep, dramatic markings. Second is the Hsin Chuen Lin Chattering Tool #2, which has a rectangular head. His Chattering Tool #1 is a longer version. Both are good for finer markings. The third is the square-headed L-shaped tool from the set with the black rubber handles. The square head allows for straighter lines. 

Preparation: Centering and Dryness 

Chattering must be done on the wheel because it requires fast spinning. The technique requires an open-ended metal tool (versus a loop tool) and enough consistent speed and pressure that a pattern begins to form due to resistance. If the piece is not centered or is uneven, it breaks up the momentum, and the resulting chattering will be uneven or gouged deeper in some spots than others. 

The pot’s surface must be leather hard. Having it on the drier side of leather hard is good, to prevent the pot from deforming under the pressure being applied. The surface should feel like hard cheese. In this state, there is enough moisture so it won’t crack, but it is dry enough to chatter (2). You can easily scratch the surface with your fingernail, but it won’t feel sticky. It should still feel cool to the touch, but dry enough to where the trimmings are flaky (3). If it’s bone dry, the patterns will be too faint. 

2 Trimmings from chattering the interior of a dish. Consistent pressure allows for uniform divots. 3 Chattering while the pot is on the dry side of leather hard, results in trimmings quite flaky (but not powdery).

Using a heat gun or blow dryer can speed up the process, but be aware that if you dry the surface too quickly, the clay below the immediate surface may still be wet as it is not dried uniformly. This can lead to a fluffy mess (4). So, if you must use heat, dry evenly both inside and out of the vessel. 

4 If you trim and chatter a piece when it is too wet, the surface will appear fluffy or mushy/undefined.

Application: Grip, Angle, and Movement 

Chattering relies on “going against the grain.” Resistance occurs due to the wheel spinning fast in one direction while your tool is held at an angle that opposes this direction, thus bouncing on and off the surface. 

  • Grip = controls pressure for depth and type of gouging 
  • Angle of the tool head = angle of markings 
  • Movement = passing over areas for the flow of the design 

Grip and Speed 

Hold the tool toward the middle or end of the tool with a firm grip, leveraged with both hands (5). Holding it at the end of the handle can create more bounce, and therefore more spacing. Have the wheel spinning fast (but not at the fastest speed!) before applying pressure. 

5 Use an L-shaped tool to chatter the interior of a dish, holding the tool toward the middle.

Angle of the Tool Head 

Hold the tool more perpendicular to the surface for a straighter pattern (6). Hold the tool at an angle that gouges into the clay for deeper and angled marks (7). Hold the tool so that only the corner is touching for stepped (8) or dotted patterns (9). 

6 Hold the tool perpendicular to the surface and move vertically for a more vertical chattering pattern. 7 Hold the tool at an angle that gouges into the clay for deeper, angled chattering marks.

8 Use only the corner of the tool for a stepped pattern, which is further emphasized by moving in an arc across the pot.

Movement, Sound, and Pattern 

Your movement across the pot will dictate the visual flow of the pattern. Once you hear a loud, consistent vibrating sound, you’ve gained your momentum. If you don’t hear the vibration, your angle is not going against the grain enough and is only trimming the surface like normal. Once the tool has successfully marked that area, you can then move on to other parts of the pot. 

9 Use only the corner of a tool for a dotted pattern. Grip the end of the handle for more bounce/space between gouges. 10 Use a loop tool to trim away and erase chattering that you are unhappy with.

For just a strip or band of design, lift away after you have marked the entire circumference. For chattering that moves across a whole area and appears like one flowing pattern from top to bottom, move your tool from the bottom to the top without lifting away. For a more vertical flow, travel straight up or down. Even if the tool head is angled, the visual flow across the pot can still be rather straight. This is why the angle of the tool and its movement can be described as two different factors. Moving in an arc, or diagonal from bottom right to top left, creates directional movement. The flow looks diagonal. 

Holding the handle’s end for more bounce while quickly moving from bottom to top creates a wider, sparser pattern. The marks are clean but far apart, as the tool is bouncing away from the surface. 

Pressing hard and close to the surface with less bounce while moving slowly from the bottom of the pot to the top creates a tighter pattern with longer strokes, like feathers. This happens because the tool marks the same areas at a prolonged frequency. 

Happy chattering! 

Michelle Wen is a teaching artist born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She teaches wheel throwing in her private studio in Brooklyn and is best known for pottery online videos. Her work has been featured in publications as well as gallery exhibitions. To see more, visit www.michellewen.net. 

Related resources: 
https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00109/ 
https://www.acros.or.jp/english/culture/craftwork_a02.html 
https://kogeijapan.com/locale/en_US/koishiwarayaki/ 
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.3764/aja.119.1.0137 

Topics: Ceramic Artists, Ceramic Decorating Tools

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