Ceramic delelopment of image

Finished shallow bowl



As a development of my lino print of the twin ladies design I made two ceramic pieces by pressing the lino into the clay. The clay was prepared in the roller press so it was nice and even and  dried  slightly with a hair dryer as it helps to take the image better if its not too wet. The lino was also dusted with a special talc to prevent it from sticking. 

I made a flat plate and a curved bowl. The flat plate cracked in the initial firing ( apparently this is common with flat, large pieces - lesson learned) the bowl came out in one piece.
The flat plate was a simple press , however with the bowl I carved away the excess  within the design to create more of a relief.
Im please with how the detail came out as it was very subtle line.
I was able to enhance the design through the glazing process. I think the design took on a old, Greek feel due to the medium of the clay so I wanted to enhance this also and go for a natural glaze to give an effect of this being a old object or artifact. This worked especially well with the broken plate adding a  story/ fantasy element to the piece.
I painted on a mix of red iron iron oxide with water to pull out the detail and then dipped the peices in an earthenware honey glaze.
The result is a beautiful rich ,high shine finish. I think it does look like an ancient object. Its not perfect in form and I would certainly like to develop my ceramic skills further but in terms of the clay taking the design, this came out really clear.

 
Process of the bowl with carved relife, before firing

Process of pressing lino

Finished (broken) plate

Glaze application before 2nd firing on bowl

Glaze application, before 2nd firing on plate

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