IT'S ALL ABOUT SURFACE DESIGN

MISHIMA & SGRAFFITO VASES

CERAMICS II

porcelain clay, oxides, glaze

In my clay classes I continually stress Surface Design.

Anyone can make a pot,

but it's what you do with the form and the surface design that sets it apart.

When I was in college, 

I really enjoyed learning these two very lovely Japanese techniques,

Mishima  (inlay) & Sgraffito (overlay).

Granted,

 it's time consuming and takes impeccable craftsmanship & patience,

but the results are so worth it.   

I felt this first one was quite remarkable in both form & surface design.

And sadly I can't remember who made it.

Once again the kids just came to the rescue!

Thanks Julia & Chloe.

This brilliant work belongs to junior Julia Ruiz.

On the first side above

 she put a lot of Cobalt Oxide into her slip mixture, 

that she used for her over & underlay work,

 resulting in a very dark blue.

On the back side below

 she added a bit of Red Iron Oxide to grey up that Cobalt mixture. 

Exquisite piece!

By the way,

the kids were required to only make two sides vase forms with asymmetrical sides.

Ok,

my guesses for these next 3 are from right to left

junior Chloe Chang, seniors Sarah Oh, & Ylia Madayag.

And I have absolutely no clue on this one,

but it was my favorite because the design turned out so wonderfully Non-Objective.

So I'm really taking a shot in the dark and guessing Sarah Oh again.

Each student was required to make two.

I appreciated that these kids were able to pull off this very difficult assignment.

Bravo young ones.

And please comment or email me the right names.