Jennie de Mello e Souza

View Original

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.