Lines in the Clay

Stamps and texture plates and things that impress … we all have a collection of such things to texturize our clay. But how often do we stop and do the most natural thing in art, the thing that we all did as children and still do while sitting in a boring meeting or droning phone call–draw?!

The drawings in these simple earrings byCristina from Umbria, Italy may take you back to your younger years when drawing simple shapes and lines was amazing and enthralling. It still can be.

Drawing in polymer takes nothing more than a hard tipped drawing implement. I would guess pins are used here.  Cristina then uses acrylic paint to fill in and contrast the lines. It give it a wonderful antiqued look.

You can also draw on clay with a ball stylus or knitting needles using a variety of sizes to add some change and interest in the resulting lines. Or you can use my favorite and a not so obvious, yet should be obvious tool … a pencil! I like using colored pencils, the soft leaded Prismacolors in particular, because they color behind. Pencils also give you a wide variety of line as you can sharpen them to a fine point or rub the tip down to a wide dull point on scrap paper or sand paper.

Have fun tapping your inner doodler!