~Sgraffito ware~
Sgraffito is a technique that I discovered as a young art student trying to figure out what I wanted to do in the medium of ceramics. I was coming into clay from a two-dimensional illustration background and although ceramics was at that time new and exciting, I was struggling with feeling that my ability to draw was not being utilized. The second I started scratching and carving through an applied layer of contrasting clay I knew I had found what I was looking for and for the most part I have never stopped doing it.
The grouped objects in the pictured above are examples of wheel thrown vases that vary in size and shape. After the forms were formed, I brush apply a uniform layer of contrasting colored slip to the entire outer wall. When that layer is dry to the touch, I carve or scratch through it using various tools to create surface patterns. Patterns for me, are fun ways to explore positive and negative space relationships as well as illusion. For those of you that are familiar with my catalog of work, functionality is not what I usually focus on and these vases are most definitely functional. I haven't stopped sculpting and drawing, but this work provides me with objects that can be made more quickly and keeps me practiced in the technique that I love so much.
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