Sgraffito from Italian literally means "scratched".In the decoration of interiors, sgraffito has been used relatively recently, although the principle of sgraffito has been used since time immemorial - cave paintings in caves, clay ware of Ancient Rus and ancient Indians of North America, ganch carving of Central Asia - all examples of sgraffito. In Italy, in the XV-XVII centuries. It was used to decorate the outer walls of structures.
What is sgraffito in our time - nothing more than carving on multi-layer plaster. Currently, sgraffito is used more in the decoration of premises, since this method allows, with simple means, to create complex decorative and artistic panels. Sgraffito can be called a monumental decor. The sharpness and relief of the picture, and the absence of halftones allow the creation of full-fledged ornamental compositions that retain their original appearance for a long time.
Technique sgraffito
Technique of sgraffito execution consists of three stages: plastering, drawing of a contour of drawing and scratching. Materials and methods for applying plaster are the same as for conventional colored plasters. On the hardened, but still wet plaster of the main layer is applied color.
After applying a pattern to the stencil, proceed to scratching. Scratching should be done before the plaster dries, after complete drying the plaster becomes fragile and unsuitable for work.
Sgraffito can be either monochrome or multicolored. To obtain multi-colored sgraffito, several layers of multi-colored plaster are applied, and images on the marked contour are successively scraped. It turns out a multi-color drawing, which can be called "counter-relief", since its relief is not convex.
In the sgraffito technique, you can perform complex artistic compositions and small ornaments. Given the strength of sgraffito, it is often used for finishing facades of buildings. In the interior the graffiti technique is used to make large panels and simple decorations, for example, for cornices or arches.
