For most of my pottery experience, the pottery wheel has been my tool of choice. But when I experimented with slab building to create pieces with more character, I noticed a trend: my pieces were functional and colorful, but the surfaces were flat. My attempts at carving or cutting lacked confidence, and the pieces still felt rigid. Last year, I decided to challenge myself and explore how ordinary objects could be used to add texture and alter the surface of clay. This weekly practice, affectionately called Texture Tuesday, helped me overcome the hurdle I was facing. The result was a pottery junk drawer filled with seemingly random artifacts that opened my eyes to the creative possibility of texture tools everywhere. One of these resources is a commonly overlooked item that we rely heavily on for shipping, but rarely use in our craft—corrugated cardboard.
Simple Texture Tool
Corrugated cardboard is readily available and usually free. You can find it on the curb by driving through your neighborhood on recycling day, you can ask store managers for their empty boxes, or you can use the boxes from your clay supplier.
Begin by cutting a piece of cardboard approximately 4 × 4 inches (10.2 × 10.2 cm). Use a craft knife with a new, sharp blade and a ruler to cut the piece (1). Avoid using scissors since they can squeeze and distort the cardboard. When cutting along the cardboard ribs, aim to slice between two ribs. After cutting out the square, examine its edges. You will see that two sides will feature parallel lines, and the other two wavy lines (2). Using one of your clay slabs, press the cardboard edges into the clay. Try creating patterns by repeating the impressions, changing directions, or alternating between the different sides (3). You can also experiment by cutting different lengths of cardboard to create borders or continuous surface decorations.
Cardboard as a Texture Mat
Cut another piece of cardboard, 7 × 4 inches (17.8 × 10.2 cm), ensuring the wavy edges are along the longer side. Carefully peel back the top liner of the cardboard rectangle to avoid ripping it. Once the liner is removed, you should see the internal structure that gives the cardboard its strength, the ribs (4). If the top liner sticks and is hard to separate, use your needle tool to slip between the flutes and under the top layer. Slowly push up, and the paper should release. It’s fine to have bits of paper stuck to the ribs; you can push them into the flutes or let the clay do that later.
Lay the cardboard rib side up on a table with the longer side along the bottom. We will be using it as a texture mat. Sprinkle some cornstarch over the top of the cardboard. If your clay is very moist, add a little cornstarch to the clay as well. Place the slab over the cardboard (5) and, using a pony roller, slowly press the clay into the cardboard. Apply gentle and even pressure on the clay. Too much pressure will distort the flutes, while too little pressure will result in very shallow impressions. Flip the clay and cardboard onto a ware board and gently peel the cardboard away from the clay. You will see a beautiful series of parallel lines (6).
You can cut the slab into a rectangle to form a mug (7). You can also push out the belly to give the lines some movement. The beauty of this texture tool is that you can quickly create parallel lines with little effort.
There are many texture variations you can explore. Turn the cardboard 90° and roll the clay again to produce a checkerboard pattern (8). Roll the clay at an angle for slanted lines. Flatten sections of the ribs to create layers in the imprint or create stamps by cutting shapes from the cardboard (9). Take a new piece of cardboard, peel off the top layer as before, cut out shapes, and then roll your clay onto this texture to produce a surface with different layers, textures, and shapes (10, 11).
As you use the cardboard, you will want to periodically stop and examine it. Is it still structurally sound? Is it still rigid? Is it still dry? The beauty of this material is that you can quickly create another cardboard texture mat if the one you have been using has become unusable. Simply recycle it, cut a new piece, remove the top layer, and you are ready to continue.
Making Texture Rollers
Using the split cardboard, you can also make various texture rollers that can be bisque fired and used to create repeating patterns on clay.
Cut out a 4 × 4-inch (10.2 × 10.2-cm) square of cardboard and peel off the top layer. Lay the square with the ribs facing you, running up and down. Take one of your coils and place it lengthwise across the ribs, about ½ inch (12.7 mm) from the lower edge. Gently and firmly roll the coil up along the ribs to produce a coil with parallel lines (12).
Cut another piece of cardboard, 7 × 4 inches (17.8 × 10.2 cm), and lay it at a 45° angle. Lay a new coil horizontally across the cardboard, so that it is sitting above the bottom point. Using the square cardboard from above, lay it on the clay. The coil should be sandwiched between the cardboard pieces with the ribs touching the clay. Orient the flutes in the same direction. If your bottom ribs are angled left to right, the top ribs should be angled left to right. You also want to ensure that the top cardboard’s uppermost point is positioned on the coil and the rest of the square is hanging off the bottom of the coil (13). Firmly, use the top square to roll the coil along the bottom square. Remove the top piece to reveal a beautiful checkerboard pattern (14).
I recommend you spend some time changing the orientation of the cardboard pieces to see what other textures you can create. I have shared some of the amazing rollers I have created using little effort.
You don’t have to bisque fire the rollers to test them. You can wait until they are firm and no longer tacky to try them on a spare slab of clay. Be gentle as they will be fragile. Too much pressure can cause them to break, or you may distort the texture on the coil. If you choose to bisque fire them, you will have durable pieces that you can use over and over again (15).
I hope these exercises inspire you to seek new ways of looking at the world around you for texture. Discovering new uses for unconventional materials can unlock new ideas and reset your imagination. I look forward to seeing the magic you create with your new pottery texture tools.
Jennifer España is a small-batch potter working from her New Jersey home studio, Floppy Ear Pottery. She is a software developer by day and potter by night. To see more of her work, visit FloppyEarPottery.comor follow her on Instagram or Bluesky @floppyearpottery. To see her Texture Tuesday challenge videos, visit her YouTube feed @floppyearpottery4192.
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For most of my pottery experience, the pottery wheel has been my tool of choice. But when I experimented with slab building to create pieces with more character, I noticed a trend: my pieces were functional and colorful, but the surfaces were flat. My attempts at carving or cutting lacked confidence, and the pieces still felt rigid. Last year, I decided to challenge myself and explore how ordinary objects could be used to add texture and alter the surface of clay. This weekly practice, affectionately called Texture Tuesday, helped me overcome the hurdle I was facing. The result was a pottery junk drawer filled with seemingly random artifacts that opened my eyes to the creative possibility of texture tools everywhere. One of these resources is a commonly overlooked item that we rely heavily on for shipping, but rarely use in our craft—corrugated cardboard.
Corrugated cardboard is readily available and usually free. You can find it on the curb by driving through your neighborhood on recycling day, you can ask store managers for their empty boxes, or you can use the boxes from your clay supplier.
Begin by cutting a piece of cardboard approximately 4 × 4 inches (10.2 × 10.2 cm). Use a craft knife with a new, sharp blade and a ruler to cut the piece (1). Avoid using scissors since they can squeeze and distort the cardboard. When cutting along the cardboard ribs, aim to slice between two ribs. After cutting out the square, examine its edges. You will see that two sides will feature parallel lines, and the other two wavy lines (2). Using one of your clay slabs, press the cardboard edges into the clay. Try creating patterns by repeating the impressions, changing directions, or alternating between the different sides (3). You can also experiment by cutting different lengths of cardboard to create borders or continuous surface decorations.
Cardboard as a Texture Mat
Cut another piece of cardboard, 7 × 4 inches (17.8 × 10.2 cm), ensuring the wavy edges are along the longer side. Carefully peel back the top liner of the cardboard rectangle to avoid ripping it. Once the liner is removed, you should see the internal structure that gives the cardboard its strength, the ribs (4). If the top liner sticks and is hard to separate, use your needle tool to slip between the flutes and under the top layer. Slowly push up, and the paper should release. It’s fine to have bits of paper stuck to the ribs; you can push them into the flutes or let the clay do that later.
Lay the cardboard rib side up on a table with the longer side along the bottom. We will be using it as a texture mat. Sprinkle some cornstarch over the top of the cardboard. If your clay is very moist, add a little cornstarch to the clay as well. Place the slab over the cardboard (5) and, using a pony roller, slowly press the clay into the cardboard. Apply gentle and even pressure on the clay. Too much pressure will distort the flutes, while too little pressure will result in very shallow impressions. Flip the clay and cardboard onto a ware board and gently peel the cardboard away from the clay. You will see a beautiful series of parallel lines (6).
You can cut the slab into a rectangle to form a mug (7). You can also push out the belly to give the lines some movement. The beauty of this texture tool is that you can quickly create parallel lines with little effort.
There are many texture variations you can explore. Turn the cardboard 90° and roll the clay again to produce a checkerboard pattern (8). Roll the clay at an angle for slanted lines. Flatten sections of the ribs to create layers in the imprint or create stamps by cutting shapes from the cardboard (9). Take a new piece of cardboard, peel off the top layer as before, cut out shapes, and then roll your clay onto this texture to produce a surface with different layers, textures, and shapes (10, 11).
As you use the cardboard, you will want to periodically stop and examine it. Is it still structurally sound? Is it still rigid? Is it still dry? The beauty of this material is that you can quickly create another cardboard texture mat if the one you have been using has become unusable. Simply recycle it, cut a new piece, remove the top layer, and you are ready to continue.
Making Texture Rollers
Using the split cardboard, you can also make various texture rollers that can be bisque fired and used to create repeating patterns on clay.
Cut out a 4 × 4-inch (10.2 × 10.2-cm) square of cardboard and peel off the top layer. Lay the square with the ribs facing you, running up and down. Take one of your coils and place it lengthwise across the ribs, about ½ inch (12.7 mm) from the lower edge. Gently and firmly roll the coil up along the ribs to produce a coil with parallel lines (12).
Cut another piece of cardboard, 7 × 4 inches (17.8 × 10.2 cm), and lay it at a 45° angle. Lay a new coil horizontally across the cardboard, so that it is sitting above the bottom point. Using the square cardboard from above, lay it on the clay. The coil should be sandwiched between the cardboard pieces with the ribs touching the clay. Orient the flutes in the same direction. If your bottom ribs are angled left to right, the top ribs should be angled left to right. You also want to ensure that the top cardboard’s uppermost point is positioned on the coil and the rest of the square is hanging off the bottom of the coil (13). Firmly, use the top square to roll the coil along the bottom square. Remove the top piece to reveal a beautiful checkerboard pattern (14).
I recommend you spend some time changing the orientation of the cardboard pieces to see what other textures you can create. I have shared some of the amazing rollers I have created using little effort.
You don’t have to bisque fire the rollers to test them. You can wait until they are firm and no longer tacky to try them on a spare slab of clay. Be gentle as they will be fragile. Too much pressure can cause them to break, or you may distort the texture on the coil. If you choose to bisque fire them, you will have durable pieces that you can use over and over again (15).
I hope these exercises inspire you to seek new ways of looking at the world around you for texture. Discovering new uses for unconventional materials can unlock new ideas and reset your imagination. I look forward to seeing the magic you create with your new pottery texture tools.
Jennifer España is a small-batch potter working from her New Jersey home studio, Floppy Ear Pottery. She is a software developer by day and potter by night. To see more of her work, visit FloppyEarPottery.com or follow her on Instagram or Bluesky @floppyearpottery. To see her Texture Tuesday challenge videos, visit her YouTube feed @floppyearpottery4192.
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