Surface Design for Ceramics

by Maureen Mills

Hardcover: 143 pages
Publisher: Lark Books (2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1-57990-844-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-57990-844-7
Dimensions: 11.25" x 8.9" x 0.75"
Shipping Weight: 1.93 lbs.

Artists at all levels of experience will want Maureen Mills's essential reference for its comprehensive coverage of one of the most fundamental yet creative aspects of ceramics: surface embellishment. Putting distinctive marks and decorations on an object is a versatile method for making a piece individual and unique for the ceramist. By cutting facets using a coiled wire, for example, Mills is able to add variety and movement to a simple vase.

Her guide opens with indispensable advice on design elements such as texture and color, as well as tips for incorporating them on surfaces. This information is followed by illustrated demonstrations of today's most popular surface design techniques—many of which have been applied for hundreds if not thousands of years—roughly organized by the stage in the ceramic process at which you will employ them.

Possibilities for embellishing clay begin during the forming process, when the clay is still wet, partly dry with some flexibility, as well as dry but unfired. At this point, you'll learn how to impress, sprig, incise, model, appliqué, transfer images, and work with resist and slip. The Bisque Ware section offers glazing methods that can enhance already decorated forms or create designs that begin at this stage. Firing and Finishing Effects is less about the techniques than about understanding the choices that are available to you, like raku, wood, and salt firing. The post-firing options range from enameling to gilding.

Inspiring, instructive, and historically relevant images illustrate the diverse was other artists have enhanced clay.