Once you have chosen the historical pot that you plan to replicate, begin planning your sgraffito decoration. It is best to have a plan in the form of a drawing BEFORE you start carving.

1. PLAN: Consider the following:

Symbols: Identify symbols that hold meaning for you - from your family, from your culture, from your interests.
- Thought exercise: if you were to get a tattoo, what would you get? Maybe you already have a tattoo - how would you incorporate parts of or all of it onto your pot?
- Look around where you spend your time - are there symbols on posters, websites, books that you can use?
Designs: Look on Pinterest, Instagram, etc. for designs that interest you. Consider geometric bands or borders that divide or frame specific areas.
- They can be specific Sgraffito Technique Videos, or just patterns that you like from clothing, video games or other sources.
- Does your historical pot have bands of designs? Do you like them? How can you copy their placement but perhaps with a different design?
Color: How can you incorporate the decorative slip colors available into your design? You can sgraffito through yellow, black, blue, white and red/brown on different areas of your pot. Or you can keep some areas of color solid, while drawing through others.
Memory, place, or objects: These are rich areas to explore. Maybe you have a favorite memory, place or object that you hold dear.

The list goes on and on...

2. Show at least 3 ideas to your instructor before you begin:

Drag and drop, sketch, or find at least 5 images onto a piece of paper. Allow these images to inspire your design.
Share your design with your instructor. We can talk through pros and cons to each idea. Your instructor might have other ways to make your idea stronger, or point out some other things to consider before you begin.

3. Prepare your pot: paint 2-3 coat of decorative slip on your vessel - allowing it to dry between coats.

Tips for Success:

TIME MANAGEMENT: After you paint the decorative slip onto your pot, make sure the surface is at the leather-hard stage to begin carving. Carving too early can be messy and sloppy, smearing the decorative slip into your design. Waiting too long, it can become too dry, creating dust, and might result in you breaking your own work by pressing too hard and cracking the piece.
KEEP AT THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY:
- Lightly "spritz" your piece with water
- Keep it tightly covered in plastic until you are finished decorating.
COMBINE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES: think about where sgraffito will go, add some slip trailing in some sections, and newspaper resist for others.

Remember: you don't have to be an amazing drawer - there are ways to print images out, put them over your pot, and use them to guide your sgraffito carvings.

Links:

Sgraffito Technique Videos (YouTube)
Sgraffito Techniques (Instagram)
Clothing pattern ideas
Video game ideas
Art inspirations (example: Mondrian paintings on pottery)