Sgraffito Tile

Going off of our unit about contrast and reaching our goal of effectively using positive and negative space relationships, this summative assignment was called the sgraffito tile. Taking a slap of clay, we carved outlines of the block to create a picture involving equal amounts of positive and negative space. I chose a design of flowers since I thought it would be simple and straightforward. I wanted to do this because it was one of the few times I've carved permanent lines in a project, and I didn't want it to look messy. I used tools specifically for carving small details in the slab of clay.

Some elements of art that I used involved line and color. Line was clearly the main element used in this project, for this is what I engraved in the clay. The lines I carved out helped determine the contrast, which is the principle of design which I used. Contrast, yet again, was a huge part of not only this project, but others as well including the Scratchboard and the block printing. It helps define contoured lines, darker spaces, and even texture. Although it wasn't necessary or needed, I did, in fact, use color for this project just for fun. I also really love the color lavender and thought it would be a lovely contrast with the black. One major thing that evolved in my process would have to be my ideas I had. My first idea I came up with was very complicated, and when I started to practice I realized that it was too complicated and made up something simpler.

This project doesn't relate to my life or has a direct story to it, as I mentioned before I really love the color lavender and I did think it would really go with the aesthetic of this project. I'm really proud of the overall design that I did, I think that it's complicated enough that the illusion remains true, but it's also simple enough that I could comprehend it, and carve it onto the piece of clay. I struggled a lot with taking my time and carving the right lines and shapes into the clay since I'm really used to being able to erase my mistakes. By having us to this work on this project, knowing that whatever I carved would be permanent, it really made me think twice and take longer than usual. If I could go back, I would take more time and probably add more detail to the project overall.