Splatter Mugs

Mugs seem so simple, but they actually pose a lot of questions.  How do I want the cup to feel against my lips? Thin or thick? Smooth and slick? Or matte and earthy? How many fingers should the handle fit? And how big? Do I want a small cup that holds just enough to drink while hot, or a large cup that lets me swim in my coffee? 

These mugs are on the petite side, with a thicker lip and handle.  They literally hold about a cup of coffee. The "colonial white" glaze on the outside and clear glaze on the inside are glossy smooth and cool to the touch.  The fun part was splattering the blue and the black glaze on top.  I received a request to make another set with blue and yellow splatter.  Will I be able to recreate this set?  Wish me luck!

Handbuilding also raises existential questions.  Sometimes I just stare at the block of clay and wonder: why? why make a mug when there are a billion of them out there? what is the point?  I try to push past all of the questions and remind myself that I do this because I like to.  And that is a perfectly fine reason to do something.

Special Project: Ceramic Sake Set

I took my first handbuilding ceramics class when I lived in Italy in 2005.  It was an amazing experience and full of surprises because I didn't speak Italian well enough to understand everything my sassy Colombian instructor was saying.  So I nodded along to her Spanish-accented Italian and the next thing you know. . . she would be driving us to an abandoned barn on the outskirts of town to Raku fire our latest creations in a mound of hay!  Fast forward to 2017 and I am taking hand building classes at Clay By The Bay in SF.  At my cousin's request, I made her a sake set!  I plan to make some more of these cuties with the hope of improving on the design and glaze.  In case you were curious: the clay is called "Speckled Buff," the glazes include a matte white, a glossy blue-green, with a clear glaze on the inside of the cups.  

Do you like the rounder cups or the cylindrical ones?