Inspired by a conversation last week with a fellow artist on fresco painting, I decided to experiment with painting on unfired stoneware with iron oxide pigment watercolor. I first etched the slab with fine sculpture rakes after drawing on the clay slab to affect the rapid absorption of water. The key to controling tonality is dilution of the pigment and the rate of water absorption.

This work has been supported in part by the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, a national research centre of the Nanyang Technological University.