View Larger Image Techniques in our "Tip of the Week" series come from all levels of experience: studio artists, production potters, students, teachers and industry experts.

January 4, 2008

Tip of the Week: Use Hot Glue to Make Cool Texture Paddles

by Sid Paradine | Read Comments (1)

My favorite tools are my assortment of paddles in different shapes and sizes. I have altered some of them to create texturing paddles simply by "drawing" patterns on a flat paddle with a hot glue gun. After the glue cools, you can use the paddle to create patterns and textures on your clay. Use the same hot glue method to create patterns on blocks of wood to use as stamps or on masonite or plywood for texturing surfaces for slabs. Thanks, Sid! And for more tips you can apply in the studio, check out Throwing and Handbuilding or browse our archive of Ceramic Art Tips.



Have a tip of your own that you'd like to share?
Ceramic Arts Daily is the perfect place for you to share your tip with fellow potters. Email your tip today!

Other great tips
1. To assemble soft clay slab-built pieces, try throwing the slabs onto pre-cut forms of 1/16-inch, gray mat board (the kind architects use), then cutting the clay sections around these templates. The mat board will support the form while you join the seams, and a rope around the assembled form will hold everything together. The mat will allow you to build forms softer and larger that can be altered more easily and extensively than leatherhard forms. The cardboard should be removed as soon as possible to avoid cracking. For added texture, try single-sided corrugated cardboard.

2. Small (tiny) items are difficult to load in the glaze kiln. Try positioning them on a strip of masking tape, then placing the tape strip in the kiln. Most of the time, the tape will burn off in the firing with no effect (do not use tape on lustered ware).

3. Coating the handles of your favorite tools with different colored paints will allow you to locate and retrieve them quickly. The color coding is especially useful if you store your tools vertically in a cup or bucket where only the handle ends are visible.

Not sure about a term you see here?
You can find definitions and explanations for more than 500 ceramic terms, from agateware to zirconium, in the Ceramic Arts Daily Glossary.