Thursday, November 27, 2008

How I Do What I Do












Today's post is a pictorial of some of the steps in making one of my Fishy Ring Teapots. These photos pick up after the two main components have been slowly drying under plastic for a couple of weeks. After trimming the ring and cleaning up the base I go to work. This teapot will be a Blingity teapot with rhinestone studded sunglasses, earrings and beaded tendrils off her dorsal fin. I'm not sure yet which fish her glazing will be based on just yet. Now she's under plastic for a slow drying. From lumps of clay to finished teapot, these usually take about 5-6 weeks to complete.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Good Morning!


What an incredible surprise I had when I went outside day before yesterday to see my husband off to work and let our dog out for morning relief. I just had to stand there frozen watching the colors change. I'd love to be able to recreate these colors one day on clay. After being snapped back to reality I realized that I had to run in and get my camera and take advantage of these fleeting moments before the sun came up any more and transformed the clouds to white. On one of the shots there's a sliver of the moon showing. See if you can spot the moon!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Mugs


The mug is such a personal form of pottery. Most folks have their favorite. It could be that the handle fits well with their hand, or there's a special place to rest their thumb, or perfect balance, or a great tactile feel with the glaze, color, size and the list can go on and on. For that reason, a simple form like the mug can be a tough one to get just right.

Up until a year ago I was never a big mug maker. It was always a challenge for me to get the handles just right, the size perfect, and the decoration the way I wanted it. I felt the best thing to do was just to not include mugs in my repetoir. A year ago all of this changed. The Etsy Mud Team had it's 2nd annual mug swap. It's an anonymous swap, almost like a Secret Santa, and because of the number of incredibly talented potters on the Mud Team, I was sure to get a winner.

This exercise got me to thinking that I should try to improve on my mugs to give them a bit more style and I'm happy to say that the designs are evolving. I'm happy with the last batch that will be at Florida Craftsmen for the Holiday Show in St. Pete, FL. And I've started another batch. I'm enjoying the fact that I can take the same elements that I use on larger pieces like bowls and plates and translate those design elements onto the mugs. My goal for the next month is to make at least one mug every day. I think it's going to be like eating Lay's potato chips, I can't just make one!