Posts Tagged “handmade cups and mugs”

One of my least favorite tasks to do in the studio is to pull handles for mugs. If you’re not a clay person and have never done it before, it’s a bit like I would imagine milking a cow would be like. To start the process, I generally make a “carrot” sized length of clay. I also make more than I will actually use since it normally takes me 1 or 2 tries before I get into the swing of things.

Sunday evening, I ventured into the garagio since it was relatively warm inside (the kiln was running) and my 4 thrown mug bodies were drying to the point where it was now or never. For motivation, I took a little nip with me (in a handmade tumbler of course) and turned on the radio.

Voilà! After maybe 30 minutes of carrot making and pulling, I have 7 freshly pulled handles that I attached to a cement board to set up. In the mean time, I began trimming the bottom of the mugs.

After all was said and done, I breathed a sigh of relief after all the handles are chosen and attached to the mug bodies. I’m trying something a little different this time. When I went in search of my bottle of liquid wax - so that I could paint a little wax around the handles to prevent cracking, I found a frozen bottle of wax. I had to laugh because on the outside of the container, it reads, “DO NOT FREEZE”. Too late…. I tried defrosting the wax in the microwave to no avail when I remember the can of shellac (which is not frozen) that is sitting on one of my shelves. I reckon that the same principle of slowing down the drying between the joints where the handle meets the mug will apply to the use of shellac instead of wax. Time will tell. The mugs are currently drying inside the house as I write this.

Meanwhile, my week looks manageable. I teach my after school clay class this afternoon and am only scheduled to substitute teach one day this week. I hope to use some of this time to make some more work.

Have a good week everyone,

~Cynthia

Tags: handmade cups and mugs, pottery, pulling handles

Sarah Christensen Mug, purchased at the Colorado Potter’s Guild Fall Sale
On Thursday evening, I attended the opening of the Colorado Potter’s Guild Fall Sale with the intention of buying a new mug for myself and to meet the membership chair of the Potter’s Guild in person. My friend, Kathleen Laurie, is a member of the guild and mentioned that if I came to opening night she would introduce me to a few people. When I first arrived, I ran into several former classmates and friends of mine from the Art Student’s League - which was a blast. I forget how much I enjoy the camaraderie of like minded people working together in a collective studio environment. At any rate, it was wonderful to catch up with friends.

I met Marta Rodeheffer, the guild’s membership chair woman, who introduced me to many of the guild’s members and we discussed the application procedures for applying to the guild. I need to return my paper application to her, and if the guild members like what they see, I’ll be interviewed and have my work reviewed by the guild at which time the membership will either vote me on or say “no thank-you”. I imagine that this will be a 1-2 month process and with the holidays fast approaching think that January would be a reasonable guess as to when I would find out my fate.

Why would I want to become a member? I’ve already mentioned the collective studio environment aspect, but in addition, they have a mentoring program and I would have access to a gas, wood and vapor kiln. I fire in oxidation which means I use an electric kiln and certain surface treatments just aren’t available to me. They also bring in nationally known ceramic artists for workshops and have a wealth of information to share.

So, I suppose I should ask myself what they would gain from admitting me to their ranks? Something for me to think about when I fill out my application and in preparation for my interview.

Back to the image of the mug at the top of this post and referencing my post last week on ceramic cups and mugs and the experiential aspect of drinking from a handmade cup. I must have fondled every single mug that was on display Thursday night while keeping an eye out for a catching design and how the mug would feel in my hand, weighted with coffee. I like a rather big cup of coffee every morning so this also played into my decision process. Last spring, I remember seeing the work of a certain potter at the Guild’s sale and was instantly attracted to her work. It’s unusual. This year, I found a rather lovely, 16 oz. capacity mug made by Sarah Christensen and promptly purchased it. My only regret is that I didn’t buy one for my husband. She had another, more masculine version, but I left without buying it. Then again, I think my husband should pick out his own mug based on his needs - don’t you think? After all it is a rather personal choice.

You’ll find me in the studio this weekend. I’ll be firing the kid’s snowflake ornaments and throwing quite a bit of work in preparation for the Fancy Tiger Handmade Craft Fair coming up in one month’s time.

Have a good weekend,
~Cynthia

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Tags: colorado potter's guild, handmade cups and mugs, kathleen laurie