A pattern can be incorporated into the forming of a vessel as it is being made.
Elsa Rady incorporated a pattern of four cut shapes into the mouth of her bowl.

Elsa Rady, American, “Step Up”, porcelain, 10 3/4” by 9”, museum purchase,
Arizona State University Art Museum

Some ceramists who use coils in construction let them show as a pattern in the finished work.

The mold used in casting this 14th-16th Century Vietnamese bowl formed the leaf pattern on its surface.

Vietnamese Hanoi Region, 14-16th century, deep bowl with petal design,
stoneware, 3”, gift of George and Nancy Moorehead, Arizona State University Art Museum

Jacquie Stevens, a Winnebego ceramist, made a pattern of openings in her piece so that rattan could be incorporated into its form.

Jacquie Stevens, Winnebago, Black Weave Bowl, 1998, pit-fired ceramic, rattan, 17.5”d

Patterns can also be added to ceramic pieces in various ways after the piece is formed.
Warren MacKenzie made a pattern of grooves around the top of his jar.

Workers at Pankratz Pottery made a thumb pattern on the mouth of this bowl before the clay was dry.

The potter who made this owl-shaped jar made the indented pattern by rolling the edge of a sea shell over the surface when the pot was still wet.

Khmer-Korat Plateau, 13-15th century, lime pot, stoneware, 3-5/8”,
gift of George and Nancy Moorehead, Arizona State University Art Museum

A Persian ceramist decorated this vessel by attaching tiny coils.

Another traditional way to decorate vessels is to apply glaze with a sponge.

Traditional Native American Pueblo patterns were painted with slip on this jar made in the late 19th Century.

Lorenzo Bugarini, a potter from Mata Ortiz, Mexico, uses a similar technique. Below he holds a homemade brush made with a few strands of a child’s hair that he uses to apply colored slip to decorate vessels.

Julio Mora, another potter from Mata Ortiz, applies slip to construct an intricate overall pattern.

Click to see Julio Mora’s step-by-step pattern-making process.

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