Surface Alteration - Carving And Incising
The carving of designs into the surface of ceramic ware is among the oldest of decorative techniques, examples having been discovered from pre-dynastic Egypt and ancient China. During the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280), a type of ware called "Tsung Se Tz'u (brown pottery) was often elaborately decorated with carvings of stylized floral patterns and scrolling. Early Persian potters also made extensive use of carving to decorate their ceramics, the most notable being the beautiful tiles with which they adorned their mosques. The hobby ceramist can use these age-old techniques to open new vistas of decorating pleasure.Surprisingly the carving process seems to work best on dry greenware, rather than on the softer wet or leather-hard pieces, since it is actually a scraping and not a cutting procedure. If wet or leather-hard greenware is used, the tool tends to "chatter," resulting in ragged, uneven carving; it is also much more difficult to control the tool when working on damp rather than dry ware; careful carving on dry greenware results in smoothly beveled edges, as desired.
While the term "carving" denotes a raised, 3-dimensional representation of a subject, incising may be thought of as a linear form of carving — a process which produces recessed lines. Either leaves are carved, while the technique can be used alone, "wood-grain" panels are or they can be combined, as incised.
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November 20, 2008