Where Mugs Come From

We all know where babies come from.  But what about mugs?  And why does it take me so darn long to make the ones for the Corral?  My husband and his brother documented some of the process for my most labor-intensive mugs.

Step One: Make clay

Since I've switched clays, I don't buy any more of this gray clay (and I can't use my new red clay to make these mugs because the glaze color doesn't turn out the same), so I reconstitute it from my bucket of slop. Here I've scooped out as much wet clay as the plaster bat can handle.  I let this dry for a day and a half in my studio.  The top air-dries, and the bottom has moisture sucked up by the plaster, so I'm left with a crunchy cookie that's still mushy on the inside.

Step Two: Prep clay for throwing

Now it's time to wedge the clay cookie, mixing together the drier and wetter parts until it reaches an even consistency.  I let it dry for several more hours until it's stiffer and ready to be thrown on the wheel, then weigh out the clay into 1 1/4 lb balls.

Step Three: Throw mugs; Step Four, Trim the bottom

Here I've thrown six mug forms, and allowed them to dry enough for me to trim the bottom.  To keep the clay bodies from mixing, I've flipped the bat on my wheelhead (from the red clay side to the gray clay side), and set out a large plastic bag to catch my gray clay trimmings.  I guess I've been keeping a lot of trimmings--that pile should really go back into my slop bucket.

I center the mug form, and secure it with wet clay (above), then trim away excess clay and shape the bottom with a trimming tool (below).

Step Four continued, since Steps Five through Seven are missing...

Okay, so there aren't any photos of me making handles, letting the handles dry, stamping each mug body, and attaching the handles.  You'll have to use your imagination for those steps.
 

Step Eight: Bisque; Step Nine: Underglaze

Once the mugs are fully assembled, I let them dry completely, then bisque them to around 1950 degrees.  After the kiln cools overnight, I apply three coats of black underglaze to the stamped logo area, using my small brush.  Then the mugs go back in the kiln for a second bisque.  The underglaze becomes shiny and permanent, and I can keep it separate from the brown glaze that goes over the entire mug.

By the way, I want to point out the plant in the background, above.  It's either a lemon, grapefruit, or orange plant; my husband can't remember what he was eating when he planted the seed, since he never expected it to sprout.  At this rate, we'll have a full-fledged tree gracing our living room in, say, ten years.  How exciting!

Step Ten: Second bisque, Step Eleven: Detailed glaze area

For the glazing, I apply three coats with my small brush, around all the detail of the logo.  I enjoy this sort of work; when I have to paint a room, I prefer the edging and trim work instead of the roller application.  After the detailed areas are done, I grab a large brush and apply three coats inside and out.  Whew!  Back in the kiln for a glaze firing, around 2230 degrees.

My pottery is microwave- and dishwasher-safe.  I think everything tastes better when it's served in a ceramic or glass container.  Especially when it's handmade!  I love the special moment you feel when you pour your drink into a handmade cup, enjoying touch, taste, smell, sight; a lovely indulgence in Life.

The next morning, I open the kiln to see how the glazing turned out.  These are for Barbara and Geoffrey...  Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy your mugs!

Happy Results

The glaze firing turned out nicely! I'm quite pleased with my clay. Here are some of the pots:

I particularly like these mugs.

The Corral mugs, ready to be packed up:

 

Into the Bisque

Last Thursday, I put work in the Fairplay co-op, Coyote Creek Gallery.  When I checked in over the weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to hear I'd already sold a piece!  The more work I sell, the more space I have for my new pieces.  Here are some pots I set out to dry yesterday for this afternoon's bisque.

Bowls, mugs, tumblers, serving dishes.

The brown pieces are all slightly squared (except the bowl in the middle - that was my very first piece in the new clay, and it will be glazed differently than the others). I made tumblers, mugs (back left), bowls, and a serving platter.

Iris stamp

To accompany the new year and new clay, I also made a new stamp: a stylized combination of Siberian and Japanese irises that I hope will look nice under glaze. I plan to replace writing my name or initials with my stamp--except for the Corral mugs, below, which I've already stamped the side of, and I don't want to overcrowd. This new clay body has a lovely color when fired, and I'd rather leave the bottoms of my pieces simple.  The stamp is hand drawn, so that it has a uniqueness of a signature, but it allows me to express something other than just my name. At a workshop by Takashi Nakazato a few years ago, I was surprised to learn that the mark he makes isn't related to his name; it means "money" or "sell" or something like that. He is a businessman besides being an artist, and truly intends to for his work to be purchased.


The light-colored mugs are for The Corral, a condo complex on the South side of Breckenridge where I do property and HOA management (aka, my day job). I've found a lot of opportunity at work to involve my creativity, including overseeing the web site project, where you can also see the photo shoots I coordinated.  The President of the HOA saw my show last summer at the Breckenridge Theatre Gallery and asked me to hang my pit fired masks in the office, so there's art around me all day.

I'm quite happy with the stamp I made here. Usually, I free-hand (backward) any design or lettering for a stamp. This design posed a challenge in presicion, so I X-acto'd the logo from regular paper, moistened it only enough to stick to the clay, and about five hours later I had what I hoped would turn into a usable stamp. After the stamp was bisqued I breathed a sigh of relief. I wouldn't have the patience to replicate the stamp any time soon, so I'm extremely careful not to lose it or break it.

All right, enough time goofing off! Time to load the kiln. I'm not sure I have time to glaze before Monday, but if I can high fire these pieces next Tuesday, I'll post the results asap!

Spring Projects

I'm looking forward to starting a glaze firing tomorrow morning! I have several projects to finish up which feel long overdue. Maybe it's because I recently took time off to visit my parents and enjoy their humid spring and neon green flora, but suddenly I feel like I've been producing and producing, without wrapping anything up!

Here are some of the fun items I'll fire tomorrow.....

First, there are large mugs for sipping tea that will go to the Backcountry Herbal Apothecary in Frisco. I added the company's logo image sans text. I just mixed up the glaze, and if all goes well, it'll end up sage green with brown accents.

The casserole dish is a custom piece for a designer and friend from my days working with blinds and draperies (hence the drapery tassel "handle"). I let it dry sloooooowly, over three weeks, just to be safe. I'm really excited to see the results: the red-looking glaze will turn blue, and the tassel will be more wine-colored with blue accents.

I put the plates on the back burner because they're "just" for my husband, and I've had more pressing priorities. Also, our outdoor pet (Linden the fox) somehow got into the garage and jumped on two of the five plates, breaking the rims. Bad pet! I threw a replacement plate a few weeks later, and I think it fits with the style of the others. They will all be the same deep brown and blue color scheme as the tumblers and salad plates I put on Etsy recently. In the middle of the plates I pressed to make shallow swirls, and that part will be the blue.

At long last, I'm moving forward with my "Poppy Reiki" vase. I was inspired by a dear friend who is a Reiki Master. She says that she came upon a poppy bud one day and performed Reiki on it for fun, and.......yes, you guessed it, the bud opened into a flower! I love this story, even if it is improbable, and made the vase very narrow (depth-wise) so that it would seem like a book to shelve, thus documenting the sweet story in the banks of my life's experience. I constructed this vase in 2009 and only today applied underglaze to the incised drawing. After I fire it to cone 6 and vitrify the clay, I'll apply a low-fire liner glaze on the inside and rim and fire it again.

For my show in July I've started making masks to hang on the walls. I think the colorful effects on my masks that I'll get from a pit fire will complement the black and white photography that will be hung as well. Who knows what pieces I'll make for the pedestals, but I'll think of that when the masks are done. I just finished teaching pit firing classes for the Arts District of Breckenridge, and of course I had my students make masks as well. I love sharing inspiration with a group of clay folks and feeling the positive, creative energy we generate together!

In the spirit of Spring, I've had plants and new growth on my mind. I don't know what I set out to do here, but I just finished a planter with an eye, nose, mouth, ear, and open hands. I can't wait to fire it and decide which plants I want to emerge from the openings! It's about 17" tall and 15" wide. Clockwise from the front are stylized hands, an ear, a mouth (just looks like a slit from this angle, but those are actually the bottom teeth), an eye, and a nose. The holes scattered like seeds at the bottom are for drainage. Everything opens upward except the nose, which I can imagine a vine or spider plant shoot crawling out of...

On to the next project!