Student work ready for the first firing in the kiln.

Leah Krueger

Sgraffito comes from an Italian verb that means “to scratch.” As a pottery technique, it refers to scratching through a layer of underglaze to allow the color of the clay to show through, creating a beautiful contrast and interesting design.

Brainstorming Radial Designs
Inspired by the process of designing mandalas, students incorporated radial symmetry into designs based on the natural world. They used their sketchbooks to document their understanding of the sgraffito process and radial symmetry and sketched designs inspired by nature. This planning page was referenced throughout the project, and students discussed their ideas with one another during a peer review. This critique process helped them refine their designs and create simplified but effective compositions.

Pressing, Pulling, and Sketching
Students created hand-formed ceramic bowls by rolling a smooth ball of clay and then pressing it into a flat, thick disk. This shape was perfect for pressing and pulling clay from the middle toward the edge, rotating the clay as they worked.

Students gained confidence through making mistakes and became resilient, creative problem-solvers.

When the bowls were leather-hard, students applied two coats of underglaze. We used white underglaze to contrast the red of the clay.

While we waited for their glaze application to dry, my demonstration bowls were passed around from table to table, allowing students to practice with the sgraffito tools before working on their own designs. Students made their final edits to their sgraffito templates before using a soft pencil to lightly sketch the design on their projects.

The Sgraffito Process
We used metal sgraffito tools to press through the underglaze into the clay and pull a beautiful design line.

Amarey C., grade five, created a flower design for her sgraffito pottery.

Students had to be flexible and be ready to improvise—if you pull a line too long or the wrong thickness, thereʼs no way to erase it. They gained confidence through making mistakes and became resilient, creative problem-solvers.

Students became very attached to this project as they worked, eager to see the results after the bisque fire, and even more so after the clear glaze application and firing.

Summer W., grade four, uses a sgraffito tool.

Drawing on Clay
Working with an unfamiliar process provided students with a wonderful creative challenge. Using a traditional technique to create personalized works of art allowed them to learn the media and techniques while also allowing for choices in design. Students were also inspired by the opportunity to create a functional work of art; they were excited to take the final project home and put it to use.

When I asked students what they enjoyed about this project, they said that they had never “drawn” on clay before, and how being able to draw on a three-dimensional form was challenging and rewarding. As a teacher, having students come back to school telling me how they were using their pottery at home was a sign of a very successful project.

Leah Krueger is a gifted visual arts teacher at Old Donation School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. leah.krueger@vbschools.com
Scratching the Surface