Sgraffito is a from of incising into clay. It is usually used on pieces coated with a
contrasting slip to the body clay, where you cut through the layer of slip with various
Tools to reveal the body color. Sgraffito can be carried out on wet, a fluid-looking design can be made using a serrated tool or even the finger. Confident strokes give the best results and a temptation to overwork the decoration should be avoided to retain the freshness of this technique. On leather-hard pots, the slip should be scraped away without digging in to the body clay. Whole areas of slip can be removed using a broad tool, while knives, modeling tools, knitting needles, and wire-looped tools all give variations of line. Textures are easily achieved using sgraffito on dry slip, but it can tend to chip easily. It is advisable to use a sharp metal tool to produce a fine rather than broad line. This type of sgraffito looks best on burnishedslip surfaces.