Sgraffito principles of design

• proportion - tried to make the sgraffito world map as proportionate as I can to a real globe
• form - made the mug as circular as i can to imitate the earth
• contrast - dark colored underglaze contrasts greatly with the light color of the clay; white handle also contrasts the dark underglaze of the main body
• space - space when of continents carefully measured

Sgrafitto Vocabulary with Process and Research

Vocabulary: (other vocabulary is integrated in other posts)

• Sgraffito - scratching away at a layer of glaze or underglaze to reveal the contrasting clay underneath
• I used the pinch method where I got a piece of clay wedged it to remove the air bubbles, and pocked my finger in it to create a pot. I created 2 of those pots and combined them together. Then, I carved into the ball to create an opening and to make it a functional ceramic piece (able to be used in daily life)
• Then, I made a handle for the mug/cup, but unfortunately, the handle snapped off because I didn't score (marking up the clay) and slip (watered down clay that acts like glue) very well, and also because the handle is unable to support the mug (too heavy)
• I covered my greenware (unfired piece of clay) with underglaze. I put 3 coats of black underglaze on the body and white underglaze for the handle.
• Then, I used the sgraffito technique and attempted to make a world map on it.
• After that, I left my ceramic piece out until it was bone dry (all moisture evaporated from the ceramic piece) and fired it in the kiln (hot thing-like oven).
• After it is fired, it became bisqueware. I put a few layers of clear glaze over the body and the handle.
• It needs to be fired once more to get the glossy look of the clear glaze.

Reflection

Not sure if its bad luck or poor craftsmanship, I had to restart on this sgraffito project due to cracks. Originally, I made a coil pot with a fat body and thin neck. I covered that with underglaze. However, when I left it out to dry, it cracked, and so I completely started over with another project. I made a ball using two pinch pots. I wanted to make a globe, but I forgot that it had to be functional, so I ended up carving a hole in my ball to make a "mug". So, I settled to make a worldmap mug. The walls were pretty thick because I compacted it when making a ball. After covering it with underglaze, it cracked yet again. I didn't have the time to redo it again, so I just stuck with it and prayed that it wouldn't crack to the point of it falling apart. Thankfully, it didn't. :) I did my world map sgraffito on it. It was pretty hard to get the details, but I tried my best. I tried to get the proportions right, but I'm pretty sure the Europe and Asia I sgraffitoed on was larger than it was supposed to be. As I was doing it, I was careless and held the handle, accidentally breaking the main part of the handle apart. Oops. I also accidentally set my mug down too hard, and the bottom part of the handle broke apart too. Oh well. I broke a golden rule of ceramics and didnt handle my ceramic piece with two hands. So, I plan on sticking it back together after everything is fired.

Next time, if I were to do this kind of project again, I would be more careful when constructing it to prevent cracks and broken handles from occurring. Also, I would think through my project and plan even more to again prevent other mistakes. Doing sgraffito was pretty fun, but it was also time consuming for my part.

I saw many cool sgraffitto projects on the shelves, but I didn't touch them (ceramics golden rule).

Sgrafitto Inspiration / Research

Sgrafitto inspiration/research

I thought about making either some sort of pattern design or a focus on a main object. I like trees, so I thought about making one. I saw a few pretty cool sgrafitto trees on the internet and was inspired by that.

I also came across a sgrafitto artist. They use many different bright colors to create a scene on a mug, plate, or simply on any piece of ceramic piece. Unfortunately, I cannot find the site again. But, the ceramic piece that I really liked from that artist was an underwater theme. There were blue whales on it. She cleverly used the scrafitto technique to illustrate the waves. I also thought about doing something similar to that – having an animal on the pot and giving it a repeating patterned background.

A few other pieces of sgrafitto art stood out to me, and I thought about imitating the style of those pieces. For example, some of them had rims or borders with designs on them. Also, for one of the ceramic pieces (pictured above), a portion of the piece seems like its gray colored. However, that illusion is caused by the spacing in between the underglaze. I thought about doing something like that.