My favorite part of working with pottery is surface design! It’s a good thing I love it, because it also takes the most time. Each piece takes at least an hour to carve.
![porcelain mug, ready to carve](https://www.kenswinson.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20200702_124132_resize_57-16047417764198349464-768x1024.jpg)
All of today’s designs were hand carved, using a technique, called sgraffito.
![mug with sgraffito lines carved](https://www.kenswinson.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20200702_131107_resize_901567330470369565624-768x1024.jpg)
Since we are in the middle of the summer season, I have been inspired by one of my favorite summer flowers: the sunflower!
![yellow sunflower sgraffito mug](https://www.kenswinson.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20200702_132603_resize_49-768x1024.jpg)
I have started carving a new porcelain clay, and it feels a little bit different from other clays. I found myself carving it a little bit different too. Because porcelain needs a little bet of extra care, I dry these REALLY slow. They might be ready to fire in a week or two. Stay tuned to see how they turn out!
![shelf with sgraffito pottery](https://www.kenswinson.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20200702_205516_resize_10-1024x768.jpg)