Sgraffito Design

This assignment was to cut a slab of clay, underglaze it, then carve into the clay to make a design. This assignment introduced me to a new way to manipulate clay and underglaze itself. Once the underglaze was dry we were to come up with ideas of what to carve into the slab, the design I decided on was a simple mountain range with the sun in the background. The materials I used in this project were underglaze, carving materials, and clear regular glaze once the slab went through its first firing, the bisque fire.

First I wedged the clay to remove all the air holes that may have been inside, then I used a roller to get the clay into a thinner and flatter size. After the clay was at the right thickness I used a piece of paper that was in the shape and size I wanted for my slab, laid it over the clay then cut around the paper sitting on top (end product seen in the first picture). Then, as you can see in the very next picture, I chose my color of underglaze and painted 3 scouts on top. After letting the underglaze dry I started carving away my design. After I was done with this I chose to add some yellow and orange underglaze to the sun to add more color.

One thing that has meaning behind my work is the design I used. I often draw a similar design mostly in school when I'm just doodling in the corner of my papers. This is where I drew my inspiration for this project. One thing I definitely struggled with was choosing a color to use, this is because I hadn't decided on what I was going to carve into it. The color of my underglaze is one thing I would change about my final product to make it stronger, I think a bluer or a more neutral color would have gone better with my design. And one thing I like about my work is the color I added to the sun. I think it clarifies the idea I was aiming for.