Hope you are enjoying the year so far - I can't believe we are already four months down!!! Where has the time gone. I wish I could say it's been spending time in the studio, but unfortunately - life happens. However, I did carve out time to create these decorative plates after a recent shopping trip to our local Kmart (I live in Australia - it's still a thing here!).
I first painted the plates with white gesso. While the plate was unglazed and receptive to paint, it had a grey tome I wanted to get rid of. Once dry, I then chose two 6 x 6 stencils with faces (create face and laugh face) to be the focal point of my decorative plates. I used a navy blue colour (night) which I loved, as the contrast between the blue and white was perfect. I used a paint brush to extend the image and fix up any places that needed a little more colour. I also used some white gesso to fix up any mistakes.
I chose to add a copper edge to the plate, which I wish in hindsight I didn't add. But I was happier with it once I stencilled with the same blue around the rim. To do this, I used some washi tape to hold the stencil in place while I sponged the paint onto the edge (travel notes). I think this blended the edge back into the plate better.
Finally, as I wanted these plates to be decorative, I stamped a quote on both plates. I used archival ink and white pigment ink with this. It really finished the pieces off. Now, the most important thing about these plates are that they are decorative only. I wouldn't eat off these, but they are fine to hang on the wall. There is food safe varnishes and sealers you can purchase - but I haven't gone down that route. However - if you are a potter/ceramisit like my mum, you can do the same as above on a bisque fired piece and sponge underglaze through the stencils. Just make sure you wash your stencils carefully afterwards.
Great project! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThese turned out great, Niamey - I love them!
ReplyDelete