Tea Bowls, Mugs, & a Cat House

The other day I was reading Lori Buff's blog, Future Relics, where she said you've got to make mugs. I haven't made any mugs in eons so I decided to make a few. Yesterday I made a couple of slap built tea bowls. Would you believe I cut out the pieces for both the same size. One of them is taller than the other. Oh well. I can't take credit for this tea bowl design, I found the pattern on a clay teaching site years ago.

I can take credit for the design of this mug made with stacked strips of clay. The handle is made with the same method. After making the piece I brushed stripes of terra cotta colored slip between the seams. Not sure how comfortable the handle will be; this will be a slow drinking mug.

Which reminds me, in Tony Clennell;s book, Stuck in the Mud, he writes about a mug sent to him by Linda Christianson who picked it out for him from a Mark Pharis firing. When he got the mug he couldn't believe she picked that particular mug out for him. But he trusted Linda's opinion so he started using the mug. Long story short over the years Tony said he has come to appreciate the mug.

Tony learned to hold the mug in a particular way because the handle is too small to get  his hand through, the bottom is rough and so on. Tony said he has to look at the mug to pick it up. The mug was not a mug he could use without thinking about it. So using this mug over the years Tony has grown to appreciate the maker's idea surrounding the design.

Here's the interior of my stacked mug so you can see the seams. Maybe some day someone will recognize this mug as one of mine without looking at the signature.

Barney and Butter don't get along (Barney wants to mark his territory inside) so Barney has to stay outside from now on. Yesterday afternoon we made a cat house of thick styrofoam (insulation) sheets. Now I can't get Barney to go inside. I put some scrumptious cat food in the back to coax him in. He stretched in as far as he could and took a bite of food and brought it out to eat. He kept his back feet out for a quick escape. I think he's afraid to get trapped inside since it's all enclosed. Maybe he'll get used to it slowly if I keep putting the special food inside. I'll be working at the ArtWorks Artisan Center today so I'll catch you later. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Stuck in the Mud

Just before we left on a whirlwind trip to Florida for my birthday, I received Tony Clennell's book Stuck in the Mud in the mail. I've only read a few pages but I'm thoroughly enthralled with the telling and the content. It's a long time potter's perspective on his life and building a career in clay. For a more thorough review please see Dennis Allen's post here. If you intend on a career in clay this book should be required reading. Even if you aren't a potter I highly recommend this entertaining semi autobiographical novella. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.