I have spent this week throwing vases, bowls, coasters, vases and t light holders. I have then covered them with a variety of coloured slips.
I really love the sgraffito technique.
So I will spend the week in my studio scratching! They will come to life when glaze is added and the bright contrasts between slip and clay shines bright.
The Kiln is half full despite my surgery at the end of last week. I intend to spend some time throwing some jars etc tomorrow.  The weather changes and people suddenly decide they need to start thinking about Christmas. I will have to plan my time carefully as my daughter Stefanie is getting married on the 21st December and I am making and doing loads for that. (photos to follow).
I will post more photos when I unpack the kiln. All very exciting!

Sgraffito, (from the Italian sgraffire, or scratched, also written as Sgraffiti as plural) is a visual arts technique used in ceramics, pottery, painting and glass in which a top layer of surface colour is scratched away to reveal another colour underneath. Sgraffito wares were produced by Islamic potters and was a technique widely used in the Middle East, influencing Mediterranean ceramics in medieval times. Sgraffito as architectural adornment can be seen on the surfaces of German and Bohemian buildings dating from the Renaissance.

The technique of sgraffito spread throughout Europe from Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries, originating from Italy and being brought to Germany via master builders and architects. As a visual alternative to stonework, sgraffito murals became an artwork in their own right.

In ceramics, sgraffito slipwares were produced in the Po valley, Northern Italy, at the beginning of the medieval period. As the Pisa region became a primary producer of ceramic wares, the style also became traded across north-western Europe.