A dandelion inspired this decorative scraffito wall dial
For a completely different take on sundials, this year I have developed another, decorative wall dial for Chelsea. I’ve been working with a local artist, Cara Campbell, also from Monmouthshire and have produced a new scraffito wall dial. These are made in situ and built into wet plaster on a wall.
Scraffito is a technique that’s starting to come back into fashion. It’s an Italian word meaning scratching. It’s simple technique where a layer of pigment or plaster is scratched off to reveal a different coloured base. The new dial also nods to history, but not so distant history as the bronze dials. Scraffito was favoured by the renaissance masters like Raphael and Carvaggio who used scraffito to decorate patron’s places in Florence and Rome. Scraffito’s popularity spread across Europe with the renaissance, and can still be seen decorating the exteriors of buildings in Southern Germany and Austria.
The new dial takes inspiration from a dandelion clock. This dial would look great on a modern property and could be worked directly into the render. Come and see it at Chelsea, or drop me a line if you like the idea and would like a scraffito dial of your own.
