sgraffito

sgraffito, (Italian: “scratched”) Sgraffito pottery technique is produced by applying layers of color or colors (underglazes or colored slips) to leather hard pottery and then scratching off parts of the layer(s) to create contrasting images, patterns and texture and reveal the clay color underneath. The layer(s) of color can be underglazes or colored slips.

Sgraffito through the Ages During the Middle Ages, especially in panel painting and in the illumination of manuscripts, the ground was often of gold leaf. In wall painting, or mural painting, two layers of different-colored plaster are usually employed. In stained glass, the scratching is done through a top layer of colored glass, revealing clear glass beneath In pottery the pattern is incised through with colored slip, glaze or underglaze revealing the clay body color beneath. Sgraffito ware was produced by Islamic potters and became common throughout the Middle East. The 18th-century scratch blue class of English white stoneware is decorated with sgraffito patterns touched with blue. Sgraffito ware was produced as early as 1735 by German settlers in colonial America.

Italian

German

Islamic

Persian

Glass

Contemporary Ceramic Sgraffito

The Project We will make draped, slab bowls. We will be making bowls to donate to the Genesee Center for the Arts’ annual Chili Cook Off. We will make draped, slab bowls. We will decorate the bowls using a sgraffito technique. Click on the image to see the Genesee Center for the Arts website.

The Process: BOWL Wedge clay Roll out slab to a little over ¼ inch thickness Use circular template to trace and cut a circular shape for your bowl. Drape your slab over a bowl that has been covered in plastic wrap. Do the following: Make a coil “foot” and score and slip it to the bottom of bowl.

The Process: CUP Wedge clay Roll out slab to a little over ¼ inch thickness Use curved rectangle template to trace and cut a shape for your cup. Allow to dry a bit and drape around a cup for support Cut a separate circular shape for base. Do the following: Make a coil “handle” and score and slip it to the side of cup.

The Process: DESIGNING IMAGERY In your sketchbook, sketch ideas for your sgraffito design for your bowl. You will be working in black and white in a circular format. Tips: Repetitive design Abstract design Simple imagery Variable line quality Contrast in value

The Process: SGRAFFITO TECHNIQUE

Apply 1 light of underglaze on your leather hard bowl. Let dry Apply another light coat of underglaze in the opposite direction. Define outlines Carefully scratch away all the areas you intend to be white.