Sgraffito: Surface Decoration Workshop with Dodie Campbell
Class | Available
Tired of plain pots? In this hands on workshop you’ll learn how to sauce up your surfaces using sgraffito, which means “to scratch” in Italian. Participants will apply colored slip, plan out imagery and create a carved foreground and background design to elevate their pottery. Bring 1-2 leather hard pieces (no larger than 5x5 inch and with a smooth surface) or use one our prepared pieces to learn this technique. Students will be able to pick up fired work from the Oliver Art Center two weeks after the workshop. All supplies included!
Dodie Campbell
Bio: Dodie Campbell is a ceramic artist who was raised in Battle Mountain, Nevada. Having parents who worked for several years selling handmade furniture and jewelry introduced her at an early age to artistic processes. She attended Utah State University earning a Bachelors in Fine Arts and later earned a Masters of Fine Arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She is currently living in North Carolina where she is teaching ceramics and is an instructor, studio technician, and wood fire program coordinator at the Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts.
Artist Statement: As an artist using the medium of clay, I create work that is meant to be used but is also engaging to look at and to touch. My functional forms are enhanced using the sgraffito method, which is achieved by covering the raw clay with a colored slip and then scratching or carving designs through it to reveal the clay underneath. Glaze is then applied over the pieces, at times slightly obscuring the design which adds another layer to the surface. Inspiration for my designs come from a love of nature and patterns. Growing up I was surrounded by women who crocheted and quilted and the way the patterned squares they made fit together to create a tapestry was beautiful. The style of those quilt blocks finds their way onto the surface of my clay and I feel a connection to the artistry of my family. I hope those who interact with the pieces I make discover a similar kind of connection and for the work to bring enjoyment to their daily lives.