Decorating with Engobe

Hello everyone!

Today I would like to write about a material often overlooked in the ceramics studio, yet extremely versatile and accessible: engobe.

Engobe is a liquid clay that contrasts with the colour of the clay body beneath it. This contrast creates the decoration.

Engobe may be a pure clay, such as porcelain, or clay mixed with pigments. The colour combinations are endless and, unlike glazes, an engobe’s visible colour will normally be its final fired colour.

Speaking of glazes, the glaze used must be transparent for the engobe decoration to remain visible on the finished piece.

Application Method:

Engobe can be brushed or poured onto a piece while it is still leather-hard and damp. Applied to dry ware, it may peel off, or the sudden rehydration may cause the piece to crumble.

Brushing is the most common application method. Two or more coats are applied to the desired area, depending on the opacity required.

Types of Engobe Decoration:

Simple or Complete Coverage

Here, the piece is completely covered with engobe. Porcelain was once very expensive, so potters made pieces from a more ordinary clay and dipped them in porcelain slip for a more refined appearance. This category includes kohiki.

Hakemê

Hakemê is engobe painting, usually with white clay, using a stiff-bristled brush. The strokes are quick and gestural; their spontaneous character is what makes the decoration interesting. It is highly appreciated in tea-ceremony circles.

Sgraffito or Kaki-otoshi

The technique involves applying engobe and removing it from selected areas to expose the clay body’s colour. A pointed tool, a comb or a tool called a tobi-kanna can be used. The latter is used with the wheel: the potter rotates the piece while holding the tool, which skips across the surface and removes small pieces of engobe.

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Inlay

In this type of engobe decoration, areas where engobe has been removed are filled with another engobe. Slip can also be applied to a recess without a previous engobe layer.

Once the inlaid engobe dries, the surface is scraped or sanded so that the decoration remains only in the recessed areas.

Conclusion

As you can see, engobe offers countless decorative possibilities. Even a little liquid porcelain left over from throwing gives a potter access to a material that can be inexpensive and aesthetically very interesting.