Anything from red and black figures to more plain figures based on your income was a way to express onself through art in ancient greece. Black and red figures on pottery was a popular way to have pottery though. If the figures in the pottery were red, they usually stayed the color of the clay while the backround would turn black. If however you had a black figured vase, the background would stay the color of the clay while the figures turned black. There would be a strip that would be placed over the vase before it was piut into the fire and those areas of the strip would turn black. The red figures replaced the black ones after awhile because they could easily draw them instead of making it hard with making small cuts everywhere. Being able to paint with a brush allowed the painters to have more room to be creative and we would get some of the most beatuiful pieces of pottery known.
One of the interesting things about greek pottery is that there is evidence that not only men but also women were artists. Not many women in ancient greece would have been artists but they were quite good at creating some of the art we see today from that time period. We don't know much about if women were not allowed to enter contests that were open to the public but there are some pieces of art that show that maybe women did own places where people could make work such as pottery.
