Mug Feet

I've been looking at my mugs again and have decided to work on the feet on my handbuilt mugs

In one style of mug I leave the edge of the bottom slab visible.  Other times I blend it into the form and mark a bottom ring with a squiggly line.  I've emphasized these with black underglaze so I can keep track of them more easily.  I am experimenting with indenting the bottoms to form a foot or at least a ring.  This makes for a steadier cup.  Because my majolica glazes are so stable I can glaze the indented center.  This can lead to a nice little surprise on the bottom.

This all thanks to Tim See, who talked about feet and the bottoms of pots in the workshop he did at S.C.A.A. last month.

I also took a good look at my favorite Linda Arbuckle mug.  In addition to having huge admiration for the way she decorates her work, I like the way she pays special attention to all the little details in the foot ring, the decoration and her signature inside the foot, and the interior of the mug. The eye for all these little details and the way they add up to a sum greater than the items is what makes her work so exciting. 

As always thanks for stopping by............*s*

Busy Days; Busy Potter

I have finally been putting my fish out around the pond.  I sort of forgot about them, but now they are here and happy.  This blue guy is the first large one I made.  He started as a demo for a class I was giving and grew.

I enjoy making these, so when I have more clay I will indulge myself and make more!

Which leads to an oh fer duh! moment.  I was all set to start making stuff when I discovered that no I did not have 100 lbs. of clay ready to go, but a lot of clay waiting to be recycled.

The photo below is a small portion of what I have been doing.  I like to get all my clay for the year ready during the summer so I can do it outside, thus avoiding at least one potential studio mess.  I beat it to a slurry with my glaze mixer and put it out to dry on screens.  This came inside as a rescue when it started raining.  Good thing I did too as we had over two inches of heavy rain.

More recycle today!

I did find a bit of my low fire white so started a couple of three-legged mugs.  I want them to look a little more tilted and funkier than they do.  A paddle will beat them into submission!

We were cutting down a lot of sassafras sprouts that have been invading since last year.  In the process I found my old garden rattles That I made in a workshop with Elsbeth Woody in Port Chester,  NY around 1987.

They are some of the last thing I did in high fire clay.  It was Elsbeth's clay body fired to about ^8 with a red iron oxide wash.  They have beads of clay in them so they rattle quite nicely when pushed around.

I never followed through but I always had an image of some sort of lawn game with undertones of croquet and bocce.

And last, two little frogs that are out by the pond.  We have quite a few of them this year.  I'm not sure why; some years we only have one or two.  There are at least two bullfrogs among them who enjoy announcing they are present in the middle of the night.

The person who extolled the silence of nature obviously never lived there!

Enjoy what is fast becoming a late summer!  Where did it go?

As always, thanks for stopping by........*s*

Brushes and Mugs

Yes, I did go a little mad buying mugs and brushes.  But I only bought stuff that really appealed to me.

I have always had a liking for Posey Bacopoulos's work.  This is the second mug of hers that I have bought.  I had never seen Roberta Shapiro's work.  I was so drawn to her sense of design, her use of color and line, that I had to buy this mug.

Both were purchased from the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York.  It has always been a special place to me because it's where I did my first long (ish) workshop with Elsbeth Woody.  A group of us went there for a one day workshop.  We then invited her to come to Kingston and jury our Earthworks show.  She was one of the best jurors we have ever had.  I am going to have to go through old photos and see if I have any pictures of the one week workshop I took the next year.  It was all about building big with little wads of clay.  She was one of the inspirations that made me return to college and finish my degree.

I can't exactly remember where I bought my brushes. The top three are from Chinese brush makers.  The two lower sets came from two different companies.  When I have time to become a bit more proficient I will post some photos of the marks I make with them.

I could look up the receipts and figure out what I bought where......maybe tomorrow!

P.S.  For more thoughts about NCECA go over to Lori Watts.  She just did a post today with lots of pictures.

We are finally enjoying many sunny days in a row.  Toes crossed that the snow will all be melted by my birthday on April 12......but I'm not really counting on it!

Enjoy the week ahead and, as always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Cats and Leaks and....

It's always sumthin'!

Remember my fat little mug that I showed in my last post?  I made it around a balloon so it was round and, well, balloonish!

Now it looks like this!  One thing I did not consider with this form was how attractive round things are to kitties.  "OOOOOHHHH, round and clinky!  Must be a toy for us!"

It was a prototype; I'm happy it wasn't part of a set.  I will have to rethink this a bit, and keep my mugs, (uhhhh cat toys?) out of reach of exploring paws!

On a more serious note, The cold water in the upstairs bathroom sink started up a nice little leak.  Noticed it when I got up in the early morning, half asleep I put a basin in the sink, and went back to bed.  Later when I went down to my studio I found a puddle of water on the shelf and this.  I finally figured out that it was spoon with slip on it!  Most everything else was on bisque pads.  One clock rim was slightly damaged, but I managed to sand it down an eighth of an inch and it looks fine.

It looks like we may have to replace some pipes or flexible connections.  Even though we are warm in the house, this is not a job we want to tackle in January.  We turned the water off at the connection, so for now there is no cold water in the bathroom sink.  You just have to wash hands quickly before the hot water gets too hot!


We are enjoying a sunny above freezing day!  It's a treat after several days of rain and gloom!

Enjoy the day, whether you are in cold or warm climes!

As always, thanks for stopping by........*s*

How Many Birds.....

Can you kill with one stone?

Monday Majolica

Monday Mugs

Handbuilt Mugs

Mug Repairs

These are all various majolica mugs I have handbuilt at one time or another.  The middle poppy mug is a black glaze the design is on white glaze.  The unglazed mug is another experiment.  I was drilling out a 'thing' in the cup and managed to go through the wall.  The mend is with thick spooze paper clay.  I will refire it before glazing. 

I keep usable rejects because they remind me of What Not To Do!  I also use them in the studio and outside because I continually misplace them in those locations.  Currently two are somewhere in the garden.  My highest count has been five! 

These are the exteriors of two of the little dippers.  I am also making some to bisque fire.

I know I said I wasn't going to make any new stuff until I got completely caught up with all the unglazed stuff hanging around my studio.

All I can say is that the best laid plans......etc.

I am finding myself stimulated and getting many ideas from old work.  There are variations on ideas and new paths to explore.  Staying busy is a good thing!

We are adding water to the pond and the pool over the next few days.  It's been sunny, breezy and dry lately.  It's great weather for drying clothes and clay, but it does make for faster water evaporations!

We keep changing and adding to the yard.  If I ever get my camera shutter to behave I'll take some photos.

Enjoy summer while it's here; I'm not sure where it's been going!

As always, thanks for stopping by..............*s*

Sunday Ceramics 18

Hares and Rabbits!  I can't believe it's the first of June.  At last Summer!  I hope all those who are under the equator don't have to endure the winter we experienced here in the north.

Enough said.  We are enjoying golden days now.

Below are some mugs in progress.  The rooster mug is waxed that's why his color is so much more intense than the others.  This is a fairly new style for me.  Square, but with flared, rather than straight sides.  They should hold about ten ounces when finished.  I am thinking of leaving the flower mug on the end with a white background.  I haven't used white backgrounds in years.  It's making me a little anxious, but hey, it's only one mug!

I wish the companies that make swimming pool vacuum hoses would make sturdier ends.  I have had to replace too many hoses because the connectors crack or break.  This is true across the board no matter the cost.  Nothing like a little built in obsolescence to make things interesting....grrrrr!  I bought a very short hose that I am going to try cutting the ends off and putting on the long hose.  We'll see, grasshopper....we'll see.

I am going to post this over on Kim's Sunday Ceramics 18.  This is going to be the last week.  I don't blame her for stopping, but I'LL MISS YOU, KIM!  Thanks for taking the time to do this.  I hope potters will stay connected one way or another.

Enjoy the week ahead and, as always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Winter and Mugs

Two years ago today we drove to Connecticut to look at a rescued litter of half corgi pups.  The woman said to her co-worker "They've come to look at 'Stella'."  We took one look at a very small pup in the back of the stall and said, "No, we've come to take 'Stella' home."

We quickly renamed 'Stella' Winter. (We had no desire to be calling "STELLA!" after a lost pup.)   She has been a delight to us ever since.  

These are the daffodils she posed among that first day.

It's a far cry from the day we brought her home.  That week end was abnormally warm, but we generally have a few blooms by now.  Not this year!

I have written about starting a group on Facebook to be called Monday Mugs.  That was before I found a terrific group called Mugshot Mondays.  It would be redundant to start another page with the same subject.

This is a pair of mugs I did with decoration inspired by Mucha.  Proge has adopted the one on the left as a beer mug.  I gave him a choice after I broke a favorite beer glass.  He likes the narrow opening and the way the clay is thick enough to keep the beer cool.

Go over to Mugshot Mondays on Facebook to see a lot of interesting mugs.  I still find much of Facebook confoosin'; eventually I will get the hang of it, but really, I like my blog better!

The weather has gotten cold again.  The high today was 30F..  It's predicted to go down to 12 tonight and be cold agin tomorrow.  Hopefully things will start warming up a a bit in a few days.

Enjoy spring, if it has come.  As always, thanks for stopping by........*s*

Presence of Mind

OR.........

Remember to cover the clay at night that you have been drying outside all day......or it may rain and you will have mud again.

Can you see the puddles in the clay?

I was asked for some mugs that are smaller than what I generally make.  They hold ten ounces.  These are the first ones I made when I was considering handles.....and believe me, I spend a lot of time thinking about handles.  The originals were too sharp on the edges.  They wouldn't actually cut the hand but the possibility was there.  Satanic mugs for Halloween! 

Due to our continuing warm weather we are finally getting morning glories and moon flowers beyond the one or two blooms we've had.  I love it when it stays warm enough for them to completely bloom out!

This was a particularly nice moon flower, starting to sag in the rain.  For some reason wilting moon flowers always make me thing of drooping ballerinas......Swan Lake perhaps?

Autumn is showing up even with the warm weather.  There has been enough rain for the swamp maples to show some wonderful color.  I love the way they look like watercolor washes.

Mist and rain today, gentle but definitely putting a damper on doing much outside today.  The colors really pop in the soft gray.

We have been watching The Hollow Crown on PBS, Great Performances. It's Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two, and HenryV, by the Bard of Avon himself.  Beautifully acted and filmed, it's well worth watching.

Have an enjoyable Sunday.  This post will also be over on Mud Colony.  Take a look at clay around the world.

As always, thanks for stopping by..............*s*

Wordless Wednesday

Come to the Fair

Jeff Brown 

Earth and Fire Studio

Eleanora Eden

Naomi Lindenfeld

I Went To The Fair.....

......The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Fair......and there I met  Michele.  It was so much fun meeting a fellow blogger.  We had so much to talk about that I went back again and hung around while she was doing a throwing demo at New Hampshire Potters Guild tent.  It would be so much fun if more of us could get together.....potters talk dirt!

I had to buy this mug from her partner in crime Jeff Brown.  I should have a photo of the shirt I was wearing yesterday when I was drinking morning tea from it  (the mug, not the shirt).  It's almost the same green.  It's not only a delight to the eye but pleasant to hold and use.  It's definitely a keeper!

Mug by Jeff Brown

I also bought a mug by Rob Cartelli.  His work is new to me.  I love the simple elegance of his designs.

Mug by Rob Cartelli

And I bought another mug by Eleanora Eden.  I have mugs of hers with a black background.  This is the first I have seen the iris and the light background.

Mug by Eleanor Eden

When I got home to R.I. I went through some of my boxes of mugs that I have not unpacked since selling my other house.  And LOOK WHAT I FOUND!  This is one of Jeff's mugs dated '99.  Gosh, do you think I like his greens?

Mug by Jeff Brown-1999

This is from an early visit to the fair.  Always fun, anyone in the area should go.

This post can also be found on Mud Colony and Artists in Blogland.  Drop in for a visit.  There are interesting posts on both sites.

Have a good week end......as always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Summer Solstice.....or

SILLY BALOON MUGS

I have finally figured out how to make mugs using balloon as a form.  The trick is to use big balloons and only blow them up a bit.....DUH!  I left the seams showing on the exteriors and put the little feet on at different angles.  Part of me wants them to be very straight up and down, but I am liking more and more the ones that are tilted.  I have enough to experiment with different methods.  Also may go in a slightly different direction with my decorations.  The ideas are flowing.  Now the thing to do is to get stuff into order so I can have some idea of how to get where I want to go.

I have to finish the rims and give each a final going over for stability, clay crumbs etc.  

We'll see, grasshopper......well see....

THE DEER ATE MY HOSTAS!

I have five hostas in planters along the driveway.  They are supposed to look like this.

Instead four of the five look like this.  Notice that they ate just the leaves not the stems.  The night before they ate all the buds off a day lily out in the woods and a bunch of violets.....no big deal but I did sprinkle ground chili peppers all over the area.  It never dawned on me that they would attack the hostas.  Silly me, I should know better!  I think the fifth one survived when Winter went out late at night.  The really galling thing is that the violets growing in the planters were completely ignored.  Why eat violets when there is this tasty salad?

And here is Winter looking like butter won't melt in her mouth after digging three Winter sized holes in the yard.

This first day of summer is being escorted in by a heat wave.  It's supposed to be up in the nineties today and tomorrow at least, with high humidity accompanying the temp.  Personally, I thrive in this weather, but then I can take frequent breaks, sip iced drinks and sit in the shade....and of course there is a huge difference between heat in the city and heat in the country.

Enjoy the Solstice.

Thanks for stopping by............*s*