Sgraffito Decoration on a Large Bowl

This video shows how to decorate a large bowl with a carved sgraffito decoration. The video is a condensed version of about 45 minutes of studio work, with most of the video at a 4x speed. The pattern I'm drawing here is inspired by a Jack Lenor Larsen fabric print from the late 1960s called "Happiness."

To make a sgraffito decoration on a pot, first throw and trim your vessel and allow it to dry to a leather-hard stage. Lightly clean the surface with a damp sponge, and then paint on a clay slip or underglaze. In this video, a blue underglaze is used and four coats are painted on to achieve a solid, opaque surface.

Once the underglaze is dry, then the decoration is carved through the underglaze. The key to sgraffito is having decorative color that contrasts with the clay body. In this example, the brown speckle clay will look great with the blue underglaze once it is fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln.

While carving, a dry brush is used to clean up crumbs and bits. If a dry brush won't clean your sgraffito, you may need to let your carving dry before cleaning, or simply wait for your pot get to the dry side of leather hard. It will be easier to clean and get a sharp line if you are almost at a bone dry stage. As shown in this video, after carving, the base and rim are cleaned.

It's not shown in this video but after bisque firing, it's best to glaze sgraffito with a clear glaze or leave it unglazed, to best highlight the decorative work.

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