It’s been a crazy year, hasn’t it. With all that is going on, I have found it hard to stay artistically motivated and I know I am not alone in that feeling. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been creating! I have just been a tad slower. One thing I did was bring home the mugs and bowls that are waiting patiently for some sgraffito carving. 

I have a small “girl cave” that is very comfortable. Having those pieces there allowed me to spend more time at home. Although my studio is a private studio and social distancing is easy (it’s just me), I still felt the need to stay closer to home. My studio is only a 6-minute drive away but still….

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The color of the mugs look grey but that’s just the color of the dry underglaze, which is black. Once its fired and clear glazed, the mugs will be a rich black and the carved areas will be ivory white.

I thought it would be fun to video me Sgraffito carving a mug for you to watch. I sped it up big time so it’s not an hour-long (it’s just under 10 minutes).  When the video starts I had already sketched the design in using a white Prismacolor watercolor pencil. The first thing I do is “sketch” the design through the black underglaze using my very favorite tool. The L1 Diamond Stylus from DiamondCore. When I first got this tool I wasn’t sure I would like it but I ADORE IT and use it more than any other tool.

During my experimenting with Sgraffito I tried carving out the hummingbird and flowers and leaving the background black.

I tried adding color.

All of these looked great but I really really like them in just black and white and with the background carved out. 

Here is some of my more recent work.  What is your preference?