These are two mugs I threw a while back and carved. I showcased them on Facebook, then set them on a shelf until I had a reliable kiln to fire them in. Well, if you have been following this blog, you know that I did purchase a new kiln and it is running. After a few test fires and a bump in the road, finally fired it and these two mugs were in it.
I used three different shades of green and a deep yellow in the carved leaves. I also rubbed a black underglaze in the recesses of the leaves. I wanted them to really pop and give a lot of definition. The background is a soft turquoise (which pretty much faded in the firing).
I also wanted to retain as much of the brown stoneware clay as possible.
The two mugs were coated with 5 coats of this clear zinc free glaze. I prefer the zinc free glaze because it doesn't turn cloudy. It stays clear.
From start to finish the glazing took me 3 hours. It is not that I am a slow glazer, but the leaves had multiple coats of color and the overcoats of clear had to dry in between coats. So yes, there were times I was sitting twiddling my thumbs, well, actually I was watching the Superbowl while glazing.
Congrats to the Patriots!
These mugs are going to be an anniversary present for my parents. They both have loved gardening over the years and they both love drinking coffee. I don't have to worry about them finding out ahead of time about this because they don't get online.
So this is how those mugs finally turned out. I sure do hope my folks like these as much as I enjoyed making them.
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