Sgraffito tile

For this assignment I was to turn a drawing into a design using ink on clay. As you scratch the ink that is painted onto the clay slab off, it reveals the clay underneath and making a design. I started with a block of clay which I had to roll out then cut into the appropriate size as well as making sure the thickness was adequate. I then painted my slab with black ink and let it dry for a short time so that I could carve easily into it without the ink flaking or smudging. I put the drawing I made on top of my tile and traced the design I had sketched earlier onto the tile. Then from looking that the imprint I began to use tools to carve out the white space. I struggled with where the stomach would be showing because of all the folds and twist of the dragon. I chose a dragon because I thought that it would include a good ratio of black to white space, and the contrast of the dragon would look cool. I liked the fierceness that the image of a dragon portrayed and thought that the strong color contrast of the sgraffito tile would make that stand out even more. Overall I think this project was very successful.