Sgraffito clay tile.

Artists Statement: 

The main idea that guided my artwork was fish and pattern. I was inspired to create almost cartoony fish because not only do I think they are cool, but I thought it would be a great way to incorporate patterns into their scales. 

The materials I used for this piece were clay, black underglaze, clear glaze, and a variety of sgraffito tools. 

First, I got a chunk of clay about the size of a grapefruit and rolled it out on my canvas board. Then, I decided to cut out a circle shape with a needle tool. I wanted to do a circle because I thought it would match the movement I was going for and would be easy to activate the borders. Then, I smoothed out the edges to give it a nice clean look. After that, I painted on 3 layers of the black underglaze, drying in between to get even coats. When it was time to begin carving/designing. I had already sketched out my design, so before I started carving, I replicated my sketch lightly in pencil to make sure I had the proportions how I wanted them. Finally, I began carving! This process took a bit for me to get used to, but having just finished the scratchboard; which has a similar effect; I got comfortable with the idea quickly. Something that I changed in my design was adding the smaller, fully white fish. I added these to help with the ratio of negative and positive space. I also think that they add depth to the piece. I then changed my design further by adding a white, thin, border. I think that this helps the clean look and makes the edges pop. It also reminded me of the rim of a fishbowl. The last step was adding three coats of clear glaze on top after it was fired. First I wiped the tile off with a sponge to get off any clay chunks that might get stuck on the tile. Then, I alternated by painting the glaze horizontally and vertically to ensure that it was an even coat.