Yesterday I worked on several bowls, a great horned owl, a black bear, and two swallows. First I make a drawing of my choice on the clay. Then I fill in the subject with stained slip. I wait for the slip to dry over night and the next day I use my sgraffito tool to remove the slip in short and long strokes to reveal more detail. I use a soft dry brush to remove the pieces of clay I sgraffito. Here's the great horned owl.
This is what the owl looks like before using the sgraffito technique.
Here's a black bear after sgraffito. These bowls are about eleven inches across and two inches deep.
Here's the black bear before sgraffito.
Here's my new kemper sgraffito tool. I use the wire tip of the tool to remove a small amount of the soft leather hard clay which reveals the detail of the subject matter.
Here are two swallows waiting for sgraffito. This bowl is about fifteen inches long, seven inches wide and four inches deep. We're all loaded for the Trash and Treasures sale today and Friday so I'd better get going. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
These look very nice Linda.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Good luck at the sale today.
ReplyDeleteHi Dennis, thanks so much, my new tool makes much smaller cuts in the clay, I'm liking it.
ReplyDeleteHi Michele, thanks, I just left Gary there and will go back a little later, Thursday is slow but tomorrow will be busy.
I love it. Another great clay technique to look forward to trying. I've carved clay, but never taken the step to put the slip on and carve it. It's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWe have a pair of barred owls living nearby, every night I hear them I think I should make something to honor them, now I see your wonderful bowls, it just gets me thinking about it more.
ReplyDeleteNice scraffito, I can't wait to see them finished.
Good luck this weekend.
Hi Barb, thanks, most times you see it in black and white, but I think any color or multiple colors can be used. Get the smallest wire tool you can find.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, thanks, owls seem so mysterious since they are only seen at night, I love there composed look sitting in the trees. When we lived in California every evening at dusk one would fly overhead and their wings are silent, the only way I knew it flew over was to look up at just the right time.
Sweet. I especially like the bear! I love scraffito, I do it in glass too.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, thanks, I didn't know you could do sgraffito on glass, always something new to learn.
ReplyDeleteLinda, these are beautiful! Good luck at the sale, and have a Happy 4th of July week-end.
ReplyDeleteSgraffito is an interesting technique. There is a similar applique technique that is cutting away and stitching down the top layer to make a pattern against the bottom layer. I learned it from Hmong women I met at a show.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, thanks, I left Gary at the sale and came home to work, tomorrow is the big day.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanne, thanks, oh how very interesting about the applique technique, I'll look it up to see what you are describing.
Love them. And am fascinated about the similar technique in applique.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the Trash n Treasure.
Hi Elephant's Child, thanks, I too am fascinated, so far so good to day, tomorrow predicts to be even better.
ReplyDeleteVery nice!
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa, thanks so much.
ReplyDeletelove the detail on your owl and bear
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, thanks, still learning this technique, because the taking away is the opposite of what I would normally draw so have to think in reverse.
ReplyDelete