Sgraffito

Artist Statement

The idea that guided my artwork was to create a 50/50 black and white sgraffito design on clay. I chose a flower because I felt like I had the most creative freedom with it and it was easy to build up the contrast between black and white. I originally was going to make the clay itself in a flower shape but ultimately decided on making a circular clay slab.

The materials I used on this piece of art were 10g clay, underglaze, glaze, and scratchboard. I used scratchboard on my original sketch of what I wanted my clay slab to look like and used clay and the glazes for the final project.

The process I went through when creating this piece was starting with my scratchboard design, I then rolled and cut out the clay to my desired shape and size. Once my clay was rolled and cut out to my liking, I painted three coats of black underglaze so that it was evenly covered for when I start to carve. The purpose of the underglaze is to not only add color but is what ends up creating that 50/50 black to white ratio. Once I had carved out my design and was happy with it, It was fired in the kiln. I then painted three coats of glaze which acts as a top coat and turns into glass in the kiln. After being fired once more, it was completed.