Sgraffito Name Plate

Artist Statement:

The subject of this ceramic plate is flowers and leaves with the name on it. I created this plate for my art show as a way of showing my name and themes that I had been working with in my art. The materials I used were clay, black under glaze, clear over glaze, and carving tools. To create this plate I first drew molded the clay into the shape that I wanted, and then once it was bone dry I painted it black with the underglaze, then I carved out the design I wanted. I then fired it in the kiln and then painted with the overglaze and put it back into the kiln for a second time. I chose to create the design for this plate because a lot of my work from this year has included flowers and the natural environment so I wanted to show that on my plate. The elements of art that I used were line and shape. The principles of design that I used were contrast and balance. The composition rules/ techniques that I used was informal balance. This project relates to my life because it has flowers and plants on it which relates to my concentration of the natural environment. The meaning behind this plate is to experiment with different techniques. I had never done sgraffito before and I really liked it because it was similar to using scratchboard, which I have used many times. If I could change anything about this I would have made my name a little clearer.