Painting mugs with color schemes

Arts & Activities, April, 2004 by Nanyoung Kim

I do this project with non-art-major college students who are taking my "Color and Design" course as a fine-art requirement, but it would also work well with high-schoolers.

My students come from greatly varied backgrounds, ranging from those who have had no art class since elementary school, to those who took two or three art classes in high school. The course is very similar to a foundation design course for art majors, but it is more simplified in content and more eclectic in teaching methods. Therefore, this project can be done easily in an advanced art course in high school.

I usually do this as one of the last projects because, at this point, students have already learned to mix colors to make tints and shades, and they also understand the design principles, such as unity, variety, contrast, emphasis and In this project, the two main objectives are (1) applying design principles to make a pleasing design, and (2) experiencing color harmony with different color schemes.

Color schemes can be taught best as design principles applied to color. Monochromatic and analogous color schemes belong to unity (repetition of same or similar hues), and complementary, split-complementary, and triadic color schemes belong to contrast (contrasting hues). Adding tints and shades introduces variety through value.

The project consists of painting white mugs with color schemes using ceramic paints. The student paints one mug in a unified color scheme and another mug in a contrasting color scheme. (White mugs can be ordered in advance for less than $1 each through a superstore or catalog, and ceramic paints can be purchased at an art/craft store or catalog.)

First, the students make many thumbnail sketches until they find the most pleasing design. The sketches are made inside long horizontal rectangles. The following is a variety of suggestions or tips that I give to the students to help minimize their frustrations and maximize their successes.

To begin, the students are encouraged to use nonobjective shapes or abstract shapes based on a certain object. I discourage them from using thin lines or symbolic or realistic imagery in the composition, as they are difficult to paint and such imagery distracts our attention from composition.

I remind the students of all the previously learned design principles. For this project, the most important design principles seem to be unity, variety and contrast. I also suggest categories of decoration to choose from, such as a free design, a regular pattern (motif repeated with even spacing), or an irregular pattern (motif repeated with random spacing).

It is also important to point out that they may allow the parts of the design to be cut by the edge of the format, and that this usually produces a more interesting design than isolating them in the background as vignettes. While I circulate among the students, they consult with me on their designs and I offer suggestions.

Adding an in-process critique of the thumbnail sketches in-group makes this process more productive and efficient. Finding successful designs and reflecting upon why they are successful greatly helps the student.

The good use of design principles related to the characteristics of shape and its size is usually mentioned as a prime source of the visual satisfaction the design gives. This process motivates the students to search more for good designs, gives them confidence to proceed further, and therefore helps generate higher-quality artworks later. Since the students put great effort and time into this project, getting a good result becomes as important to them as to any professional artist.

When one sketch is chosen for the final design, color is tried out with color pencils to plan and envision the final effect. The students then draw their design on a 3" x 9" rectangular piece of drawing paper (not too thick). those being the dimensions of the painting surface of the mug we use (height: 3 3/4 inches: circumference: 10 1/2 inches). This will be the design for two mugs.

To transfer the design to the mug surface, a piece of carbon paper is cut to the same size. After masking the rim, the base, and around the handle with masking tape with a 3/8-inch width (for safety and aesthetic reasons) the student attaches the carbon paper to the unmasked area, with the carbon side touching the mug surface, and attaches the drawn design over the carbon paper.

To secure a good transfer of the design, the student uses a ball point pen with substantial pressure. The two attached pieces of paper are then removed, revealing outlined areas to be filled in with the different colors of one color scheme. The same process is done to another mug for the second color scheme.

After the mugs are painted and have dried for several days, students cut between the tape and the painted surface with an X-ACTO[R] knife and carefully removes the masking tape. Any extra paint that has slipped underneath the making tape and dried is scratched off. The students take the mugs home and bake them in the kitchen oven according to the directions found with the ceramic paint.