Sgraffito is a style of art that comes from an Italian word meaning “to scratch”. This style is often subtractive. Material is removed or scratched away which leaves behind a design.
I really enjoy Sgraffito, and it’s something I do regularly in my studio. I begin by making a form, usually a plate, then applying colored slip (liquid form of clay). I then carve the design into the piece, and scratch way the remaining slip which allows the design to stand out.
Sgraffito reminds me of my own “scratching away” that needs to happen periodically. Society, culture, religion, and family often cover us with ideals about how we should live, act, look, and be. These layers can weigh us down and hide our truest selves.
For example, American culture seems to value the extroverted, the outgoing, the life-of-the-party. I always felt my quiet, shy, awkward self never lived up to this value. But author Susan Cain in her book, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”, helped me embrace and cherish my quiet, introverted self. I try to celebrate this part of me by arranging my daily life with activities that fill me up rather than drain me dry.
Another prevalent ideal layered on us by society is that we are more valuable the younger we look. It taught me to hide my graying hair so I can look as young as I can for as long as I can. But now I have found beauty in my natural gray-filled, mane-like mop! (Not that there’s anything wrong with colored hair, and I reserve the right to dye it again at any time:)
“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about unbecoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”
– Paulo Coelho
So perhaps part of our work on this journey of life is to “scratch away” all the heavy layers that have covered us up overs the years – to learn the art of “unbecoming”. May we all have the courage and space to Sgraffito our own lives so the truest beauty of who we are can shine through!
