Matching Wheel-Thrown Cups
What did I make?
I created two matching, wheel-thrown, functional cups. They are glazed using a bubble technique.
Why did I make it?
I wanted to challenge myself to create cups that matched in both form and design. I wanted to improved my wheel throwning and create a more advanced piece. I choose the form that I did because I thought it was a very classic mug shape. The glazing technique was also new to me and a challenge, which I enjoyed.
How did I make it?
I began by wedging my clay. Then I placed a bat on the wheel and moistened the center. Next, I slammed the clay onto the bat and centered it. Once centered, I made the initial hole in my clay and than stopped the wheel to check the width of the bottom. I use the "butterfly hands" technique to open up the hole and begin to create the walls. I continued shaping and pulling up to create a mug type form. I then used a series of tools to taper and shape my cup. Next, I used a chamois to smooth the lip of my cup.Then, I removed my bat from the wheel with the cup still attached and repeated this whole process to create the matching cup. Once I tweaked the shapes so the cups matched as much as possible, I placed them back on the wheel and cut them off the bat using a wire tool. I then let the cups become leather hard and scrubbed to with a brilo pad to make it smooth. I also created a handle for each mug using the pulling technique and score and slipped them onto the cups. They were then bisque fired and after glazed using the bubble technique. Lastly the cups were glaze fired.
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