Pottery Relief Project – for Sec Students

Bring texture, pattern, and tactile design into your classroom with this hands-on pottery project!

Students will explore “relief”, a raised design in art, by creating their own decorative surface using simple materials and expressive clay-building techniques.

This versatile ceramic lesson can be adapted for all Secondary year levels and makes an excellent link to pattern, culture, or other thematic art units.

Lesson Overview (3 x 1-hour sessions)

Design & Create the Relief Plate: Students sketch and carve their design into a Styrofoam printing plate, inspired by pattern, texture, or a current art theme.

Build the Pot: Using air-dry or kiln clay, students press their Styrofoam design into the clay surface to transfer the raised pattern.

Paint & Finish: Once dry, students bring their piece to life with watercolours or acrylic paint to emphasise depth and contrast.