Ceramics 10-12 – Grayson Perry and Political Surfaces

For your first assignment, you are challenged with creating a large, traditional form in the style of Grayson Perry.

You will be coil- and slab-building a vessel that is symmetrical and at least 30cm tall (before firing). You will then design a decorative plan for your vessel, taking Perry’s aesthetic into account.

You will be using coloured slips to decorate. A slip a is a smooth, coloured, liquid clay the consistency of yogurt that is used for adding imagery, pattern, and excitement to clay surfaces. Note – a slip is not a glaze; think of the slip like a primer – you are creating a coloured surface that you will then apply glaze to after the vessel is fired.

Your decorative scheme must be about a political or social issue, much as Perry’s work is very cutting edge and generates dialogue.

You will be decorating and painting with slips, and also using a decorative technique called sgraffito. This is where you slip an area in colour, wait for it to stiffen, and then carve through. It looks very much like a lino-cut print.

Steps: Generate one exciting, visually interesting page about Grayson Perry in your sketchbook. Research traditional ceramic forms, and choose one to replicate for your vessel. Try not to do anything

overly ambitious – remember we are coil-building. Use paper to design elements for your vessel (you will be shown how to do this). Think about

designing your political/social issue like a tapestry in the style of Perry that will be wrapped around the vessel.

Your imagery must include text, figures or faces, pattern, and colour. Slip and decorate your pot with coloured slips, underglazes, and carve through using the sgraffito

technique. This about using texture and layering images for a dynamic surface. Fire. Glaze. Fire. WOWZA!