Sgraffito Tile

Sgraffito (in Italian “to scratch”) is a pottery decorating technique produced by applying layers of color (underglaze) to leather hard pottery and then scratching off parts of that layer to create contrasting images, patterns and texture and reveal the clay color underneath.

Sgraffito art work by Kathy King (plates on left and center) and Natalie Blake (right).

Japanese Notan and Kamon Designs-

Light /Dark Harmony

ASSIGNMENT:

For your project you are to design a ceramic tile with a two-dimensional under-glazed design on the surface. Create a pattern using natural motifs (plants, animals, patterns found in nature). Inspired by some of the images we have looked at in class. These can be naturalistic or abstract, but it is important that they be balanced (white/black- think yin yang) and have a strong sense of positive/negative space interaction.

Here is a time-lapse video of an artist making a sgraffito platter