1. Gather Your Materials and Begin
Four mugs thrown on the potter's wheel.
Photo © 2009 Beth E Peterson
Mugs are great projects for the potter just beginning to work on the wheel, as well as fun for seasoned, veteran potters. They offer an incredible amount of scope in decorative techniques that can be used, yet basically remain a simple cylinder with a handle attached.
A note on the clay to use: When a pot will or can be used for food and drink, it is best to use a mid- or high-fire stoneware. (Porcelain clay bodies are suitable to the pot's use, but are notoriously difficult to throw. A white stoneware clay is a good working compromise for those newer to throwing.) You also need a clay body with good throwing characteristics.
Make sure that your clay body and the glaze(s) you will use match in their maturation temperature. For example, a cone five glaze is appropriate to use with a cone five-six clay body.
To throw your mug, you will need about a half to one pound of suitable clay, a bucket of water or slip, a potter's needle, wooden trimming tool, sponge, chamois, and cut-off wire. Toweling is always a good idea for covering knees and cleaning hands.
First steps:
- Fully wedge your clay
- Center the clay on the wheel
- Open the clay
- http://pottery.about.com/od/throwingonthewhee1/ss/howthrow.htm]Throw the walls to create a cylinder
2. Decorative Option: Use Contrasting Slip
Two different contrasting slips are applied to the body of a mug while it is still on the potter's wheel.
Photo © 2009 Beth E Peterson
This mug-to-be has been decorated with bands of contrasting slip while it is still on the potter's wheel and before it has been cut off from the bat. The clay body is tan, a white slip was applied first (and allowed to drip a bit), then a band of dark brown slip was applied.
To apply the slip, a brush was used. The white slip was just a bit thicker than the consistency of heavy cream and the brown slip was a bit thicker than that. The wheel was rotated at a very slow speed during application.
3. Decorative Option: Use Incising
Incising through contrasting slip while the mug's body is still on the potter's wheel.
Photo © 2009 Beth E Peterson
Another decorative option to consider is that of incising. In this example, I am incising through the layers of contrasting slip in a wave-like pattern. The wheel is again rotating at a very slow speed and the mug's body has still not been cut free of the bat.
The tool I am using to incise is nothing more than a "fake credit card" (the ones that come in the mail with credit card offers). The stiff cardboard was trimmed on one edge with pinking shears.
4. Attach the Handle to the Wheel-Thrown Mug
The handle is attached to the body of the mug that was thrown on the potter's wheel.
Photo © 2009 Beth E Peterson
After you have completed any wheel work on the mug's body, cut it free of the bat and allow it to dry to leather-hard. If you haven't already, determine what kind of handle you will make for the mug.
For this mug, I pulled a handle. Remember that you should make the handle soon after completing the body of the mug so that it will be stiff enough to attach to the leather-hard mug and still hold its arc.
Put the mug up to dry completely. If the handle is drying much faster than the body, loosely cover the mug with plastic.
5. Complete the Wheel-Thrown Mug
This mug was thrown on the potter's wheel by Beth Peterson. Mid-range stoneware with Albany slip and opaque glazes, underslips and incising.
Photo © 2009 Beth E Peterson
Once the mug is completely bone-dry it is ready to be bisqued. After the bisque kiln is completely cool and unloaded, you can continue to decorate the mug with underglazes, if desired. After any underglazes are dry, it is time to glaze your mug.
Something to take into consideration: mugs (as with all food and drink ware) should have a gloss or high gloss on its interior, This cuts down on any bacterial growth taking hold in microscopic crevices. It also makes the mug much easier to wash thoroughly.
Get ready to glaze, then glaze your mug as desired.
Our example mug was glazed on the exterior with a semi-opaque white glaze that allows the decoration to peek through, but adds to an air of depth and mystery. The interior was glazed with an Albany slip glaze.