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Hello there!
As I hinted at in our last blog post, we've been making porcelain mugs again! And, I for one, am pretty jazzed about it. Porcelain, if I'm being open and honest, is sort of my class favorite.
Don't misunderstand me when I say that, I love stoneware too. I just love how smooth porcelain is. Especially for mugs. I love the way it feels in my hands and on my lips. It's so glossy, fluid, and peacefully effortless to the touch in all the right ways. Just plain yummy in my opinion.
Also, as I stated in the last blog post, I put in a special order for a new coffee mug which I'm basically over the moon about.
I like to use an aeropress to make my morning coffee. For a long time, I've really been wanting a porcelain mug that has a mouth wide enough to submerge the hockey puck like top of the aeropress into the mouth of the mug.
All these mugs have been thrown on the wheel. They have a rounded out, lightly bulbous bottom and a sort of flared out rim. Once they're thrown, depending on what we want the final outcome to be, we'll either decorate them with slip and carve the patterns, or glaze them. Handles will be attached to all of them.
For the mugs that won't get carved, they'll get glazed. But that'll happen after they've been fired in the bisque kiln.
In a nutshell, basically the bisque kiln removes all the water from the clay leaving a really porous surface that'll easily accept the glazes. The glazes will suck right into the pieces after their first trip through the kiln.
Also, keep in mind as you look at these photos that all the mugs that show the gray/blue color and a pattern will look different once they're fired. The dark gray/blue color will turn a bright cobalt blue and the pattern will be white, matching the white base color of the mug.
You can see in the photo above all the handle-less mugs sitting on the ware board in the background and in the foreground are all the handles.
You've probably noticed by now, no doubt, that Diana's mug shows up in a lot of these studio photos. She uses it every single day. No exaggeration. It's best to not forget your warm beverage while working in the chilly studio during the winter months.
On our website, the mug listings all say: "There is nothing more personal than your favorite mug. We feel like mugs are one of the most personal pieces of pottery you can own."
It's not a lie when we say that! We totally believe in finding, claiming, and using your favorite mugs every day.
Back to the process talk though..
When we're doing work like this, we do it in stages. All the "like tasks" get done at the same time. Meaning, all the mugs are thrown. Then, they're all slipped. Then, all carved. Then, all the handles get added. Etc, etc,.. We don't make one mug at a time from start to finish.
We "bulk work" I guess is what I'm trying to say.
Once the mugs are at this stage, They'll now sit and dry out. Over the next chunk of time we will gradually make more pots. When we have enough pots assembled, then it'll be time for firing the bisque kiln, like I was mentioning before.
Ok! That's a wrap for tonight. Hope you enjoyed the porcelain mug show. As always, thanks for following along and please let us know if you have any questions.
~Claire
