Pot Bellied Tea Mugs - Greenware 360 View & Saucers
It's probably not really a surprise that I have taken to zen doodling and hand lettering on clay. Exhibit A: the Pot Bellied Tea Mugs.
They were nice and leather hard when I first cut into the, and the bodies are nice and thick, so I was able to get a really good purchase with my embossing tool.
A lot of sponging and tracing goes into making the lines this clean. I've been told that using saran wrap can reduce that labor. I'll need to give that a try because it's time consuming, and I tend to get obsessive.
The plates were a little bit too dry for carving, and I've lost a couple of plates recently to over-confident carving, so I think I was a little bit lighter-handed than needed on this one in particular.
I contemplated replicating the mandala on each plate, but since they were so dry, I didn't want to risk it. Instead, I decided to match each one to a cup with the oh-so-witty tea sayings.
They were nice and leather hard when I first cut into the, and the bodies are nice and thick, so I was able to get a really good purchase with my embossing tool.
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| This one might be my favorite. |
A lot of sponging and tracing goes into making the lines this clean. I've been told that using saran wrap can reduce that labor. I'll need to give that a try because it's time consuming, and I tend to get obsessive.
Carving is a little bit risky because details can get lost if you use the wrong glaze. I'm planning on using Yellow Winkur on these, which is a matte orange that, recently, has been pooling yellow on my porcelain clay body. And by "recently" I mean it did it the last time I used it, and it was an anomaly. Because pottery glaze, amiright?
I contemplated replicating the mandala on each plate, but since they were so dry, I didn't want to risk it. Instead, I decided to match each one to a cup with the oh-so-witty tea sayings.
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| Because you can't not have a British saying on custom tea-ware. |
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| I'm calling this one The Riddler |
I got extremely lucky with this one and caught a broken handle while the cup and the handle were still wet enough to repair. I was not so lucky recently on four of my commission mugs. But that's another blog post.
A little light on that plate, too. But, bonus picture of half my embossing tool. The smaller end. The other side has a larger ball on it. I use the pictured end to sign the bottom of each piece because it is great for getting a wide line that won't shrink out, but it does create a lot of drag and snagging, so I really need to look into the saran wrap thing. I've been dying to get my hands on some Diamond Core tools, which are supposed to be the best.
The next time y'all see these mugs they'll be completely finished! Well, they may make an appearance on my instagram stories before then, but I tend not to photograph the glaze process.
Coming soon on the blog: the Pet Mugs commission project (it's a doozy), and What to Do With a TON of Pumpkin Puree. Stay tuned!
~The NWB
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