Decorating techniques
Sgraffito
The word sgraffito means âto scratchâ in Italian. This is a technique where leather-hard clay is coated in coloured slip and then areas are scratched or scraped away. The topcoat of slip is removed showing the clay beneath, creating a contrast of texture and colour.
This works well with A clay with a high content of iron giving the clay a red colour clay as a range of colours stand out against the rich red/brick colour.
Impressing
Impressing is a technique to add decoration to a clay surface. Marks are made by pressing tools, objects and materials into the soft clay body.
Clay can be rolled onto textured materials, fabrics or wallpaper. When the clay is fired, A mixture of metal powders with water that create coloured effects in the firing process or A mixture of minerals and metal powders in water. It is applied to ceramic surfaces to achieve colourful, glossy surfaces and interesting effects can be used to bring out the detail and qualities of the impressed objects.
Press moulding
Press moulding is a way to decorate and enhance clay work.
A mould is created first and then, when clay is pressed into the mould, an exact copy of that item is made.
To create the press mould, items or textures are first pressed into a slab of clay. The items are removed, leaving their impression in the clay surface. A wall of clay is built around this impression.
Plaster is poured on top and left until set. The clay is then removed and washed away. The press mould needs to be completely dry before it can be reused.
Multiple identical impressions can be made from a press mould and then be applied to multiple clay surfaces or pots.