Leslie Messersmith, shown above right with student Gail Falk, recently taught a class on the cuerda seca surface technique of firing glazed pottery at the Bay School Community Arts Center in Mathews. Students provided simple pots, bowls, mugs, vases and tiles that were already bisque-fired, as well as some designs or motifs drawn on paper. They then applied colored wax and glaze to the surface to create intricate graphic designs. With cuerda seca, the water-soluble glazes are separated on the surface by thin lines of a greasy substance to prevent them from running out of their delineated areas during the firing process. A dark pigment was mixed with the grease to produce a dark line around each colored area. Below, a finished bowl by student Doris Hackworth.

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