The elements of art the building blocks of any practice or completed work.

Elements of art help us to create works that are both visually pleasing and meaningful to others.

The elements of art are…

LineShapeFormValueColorTextureSpace

In Ceramics, line can be painted on your piece with glaze or carved into your piece to create a design. Line can also be part of the structure of your piece.

Karen Morgan Emilia Ceramics

Shapes have length and width. There are two types of shapes:

Geometric shapes are the basic shapes we learn in kindergarten that are easily identifiable and have names.

Organic shapes are shapes we may be familiar with, but have no real names for, like “teardrop” or “blob” shapes.

Shapes are always flat.

In ceramics, shapes are often cut out of a piece as an opening or design.

Lauren Denney Artist Unknown

Form is the 3-dimensionality of an object.

A form has length, width and depth, and casts a shadow. You can walk around a form, and sometimes even hold a form in your hands.

Ceramics is a form medium. All objects made in ceramics are considered “forms.”

Richard Notkin

Color is the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye. Without light, there is no color.

In ceramics, we deal with color when we begin to use glazes.

Zuzana Licko Tom Cannon

Value is how light or dark an object is. Value is most easy to see when working with color.

In ceramics, value is also easy to play with when you begin glazing. Value adds depth to your work, and makes it much more interesting.

Kevin Gauthier Tiles

Texture is the surface quality of an object. There are two types of texture in art:

Real texture is when you can actually feel the bumps and lines on the artwork.

Implied texture is when an artwork looks like it feels a certain way, but is actually smooth.

In ceramics, real texture can be made by carving into your pieces. Implied texture can be created when using glazes.

Cynthia Mosser Michael Wisner

Space is how your artwork interacts with the room it’s in. Space deals with the distance between objects and around them.

In ceramics, you can use space to draw interest to your pieces, or use space to enhance their appeal.

Eva Hild

Linda Lighton