Specialized Japanese Pottery Techniques: Kurinuki & Sgraffito
Move beyond the basics and explore the meditative precision of traditional Japanese pottery. Join me for an immersive session to carve, texture, and create your own intricate ceramic pieces.
This video shows the making of a stunning lidded jar using Kurinuki, a Japanese technique of carving from a single block of clay. It's a slow, meditative process that I teach in my specialized workshops.
Learn two beautiful techniques in one workshop. This video showcases plates made by rolling a slab and then decorating it with Sgraffito, a method of carving through a colored layer to create a design.
Sgraffito is a wonderfully meditative surface decoration technique. In my workshops, you can learn this ancient art of scratching designs into clay to tell your own story.
The rugged elegance of a hand-carved Kurinuki box. This piece embraces the wabi-sabi concept, finding beauty in its small imperfections, making it a unique treasure chest.
The making of a goth-inspired Sgraffito plate. This technique allows for incredible detail and personal expression, perfect for creating your own unique artwork.
A finished stoneware Kurinuki box, resting in nature. The textures and form are a direct result of the carving process, making each piece entirely unique.
About Deeper Dive: Specialized Japanese Techniques
Unlike basic slab-building where you add clay to grow a form, Kurinuki and Sgraffito demand a different mindset. Kurinuki is subtractive; you carve directly into a solid block to find the shape within. Sgraffito is equally deliberate, requiring you to scratch designs through colored slip to reveal the clay underneath. These techniques turn the studio into a space for quiet precision, perfect if you want to move past the basics and create something with deliberate texture.
These workshops are for those who want to slow down even further. In the Kurinuki session, we take a solid block of clay and use loop tools to hollow out the center. It is a slow, rhythmic process that forces you to respect the material and find the form hidden inside. We embrace the wabi-sabi philosophy here—if the carving leaves a mark or the shape isn't perfectly symmetrical, that is where the beauty lives.
For the Sgraffito sessions, we focus on surface design. We apply a layer of colored slip and then scratch away parts of it to create high-contrast, detailed patterns. It is almost like drawing, but with more resistance. It requires a steady hand and a bit of patience, but the result is a piece that feels entirely yours.
Whether you choose the carving-heavy Kurinuki or the graphic Sgraffito, the session lasts three hours to give you the space to experiment without rushing. All materials, including specialized loop tools and pre-stained colored clays for Nerikomi, are provided. Once your piece is finished, I handle the professional firing and transparent glazing back at the studio. You will be able to collect your completed, food-safe ceramic work in about 3 to 4 weeks, ready to be used at home.
Similar work from other experts
Browse through Curated picks from other experts on mytribe
Artistic Pottery & Sgraffito Workshops in Mumbai
Pottery Decoration and Finishing Techniques
Advanced Pottery Courses & Special Workshops in Mumbai
The Art of Raku Firing
39
Honing Your Craft: Advanced Pottery & Ceramics
11Sculpting Stories in Clay: Creative Pottery & Anatomy Workshops
More from Pottery Classes & Workshops by Studio Gariffiti
More services by Studio Gariffiti