Ceramics/Creating A Relief Sculpture

Procedure Outline:

1: Trace over the contour lines of a photocopied image with a charcoal pencil.

2: Knead and wedge a ball of clay to get rid of all air bubbles, then flatten it out to create a slab around 1” thick

3: Place the newly-traced image face-down on top of the clay slab. Then, using a cotton ball, saturate the back of the paper in rubbing alcohol. Next, burnish the back of the paper with a spoon, making sure that all points of the paper have made direct contact with the clay. Check periodically to make sure the drawing is transferring to the clay.

4: After the image has been transferred, use the assortment of clay tools to gouge out the clay to preferred depths, allowing foreground images to protrude from the work, making it three-dimensional (and thus giving the piece a sense of depth and complexity). To smooth rough edges, dip fingers in water and gently rub onto clay surface.

5: Paint pieces with underglaze.

6: Bisque-fire the pieces.

7: Paint pieces with underglaze.

8: Fire the pieces.