Adding texture to Clay
One of my favorite things about clay is that you can add texture to it, and when it gets fired in the kiln, the texture is a part of your design. I also love the way high fire glazes look on texture. They tend to have a very rich and interesting look that a flat surface doesn't always give.
You can add texture in many different ways- stamps, rollers, carving and adding on clay. But what I will show you in the video is mostly stamping, or impressing objects into clay to make a texture. You can turn that texture into a pattern if you like.
When stamping, you should know the difference between concave and convex. The way I remember it is concave forms a cave, and convex sticks out. When you press a concave stamp into the clay, it creates a raised, or puffy surface. And when you press a convex stamp into clay, it create a hollow in the clay, or a concave area. It is also the mirror image of the stamp!
Words you should know:
Texture- one of the seven elements of art. Texture refers to the way an object feels to the touch or looks as it may feel if it were touched.
Pattern- one of the seven elements of art. Pattern is a combination of elements or shapes repeated in a recurring and regular arrangement.
Concave- hollowed or rounded inward like the inside of a bowl
Convex- curved or rounded outward like the exterior of a sphere or circle.
