Giant Woodland Mushroom Mug - Before and After

I went to the studio this morning because I saw a bunch of my pottery friends posting pictures of stuff fresh out of the kiln yesterday. My fingers were crossed that at least one of my mushroom pieces got in. Particularly, I was hoping that the big mushroom mug would, because it took me like three hours to glaze it last weekend.

Glazes: Coffee & Cream (body & interior), Barnyard, Sunflower Yellow, Burnt Orange, Eggshell Shino, and Jade Green.

While I was glazing it and the black clay mushroom pitcher (more on that to come!) several people at the studio marveled at it and the time I was spending brushing all these different glazes on. For those of you who are not potters, let me tell you a tale about glazing in a shared studio space, and why it takes me so long to glaze a piece like this. It’s not the same as painting; which can also take forever but can generally be done sitting down because paint bottles are small. That’s not how we do.

It’s just economical to buy and mix large amounts of glaze at a time. They come powdered in 25 lb increments (or more, depending!) and have to be mixed with a specific amount of water. So, the studio’s glazes are in 5+ gallon buckets, and the glaze particles settle at the bottom over time. Each time I need to use a new glaze, I have to 1: rinse all my tools thoroughly so that there’s no cross contamination between glazes. This is chemistry! 2. Locate desired glaze and wheel or carry it to my workstation (remember, 5 - 10 gallon buckets filled with very specifically formulated mud. They heavy.). 3. Mix thoroughly with big whisk. I tell my students to mix it like you’re mad at it, because you don’t just swish swish swish, all done! No. Glazes are made from the same things as clay, only in different proportions and with more water. If you want it to act proper in the fire, you gotta make sure it is consistent when applied. Someone in my first pottery class said: Mix until you think it’s good, then mix some more. I live by that principle when it comes to glazing. If your arm doesn’t hurt, keep going until it does, and then stir some more. Burn calories! Pottery is a fully body endeavor, y’all.

If this were a regular piece of pottery, I’d simply dip it into the well-mixed glaze, shake it off, let it dry, sponge off any excess glaze at the foot and call it good. Perhaps, if I’m feeling particularly adventurous, I’ll dip the rim in a different glaze. In some cases, I’ll pour glaze into a mug’s interior before dipping it in a different glaze for the exterior. Even when it’s just dunking pots in glaze, the process ALWAYS takes longer than you think it will. Ask any potter. Plus, bitches be perfectionists (it’s me, I’m bitches), so we bring it on ourselves sometimes, too. Opting to brush the glazes on instead just adds more time for having to be precise and working at awkward angles and trying to keep one glaze from getting in the wrong spot and having to brush away mistakes without over-soaking anything.

However, a pottery friend that I love and admire gave me some solid advice when I very first started making ridiculously detailed pieces. She told me: you have to put as much time into decoration as you did into building it. And she, as usual, was 100% correct. The end results can’t be disputed. WORTH. IT.

It holds 40 ounces, I measured. So, I was pretty accurate with my prediction of between 32 and 48. Also, it weighs over 2 pounds by itself. Not only is it a beautiful work of art and a coffee cup large enough for anyone, it’s also an arm workout.

I think I will continue to make woodland themed mugs, but in a more reasonable size range. I like this shape, though; very tree-stump like. After my most recent batch of Memento Mori mugs are done, of course, because they’re still very much in the works. I also gave into the temptation to go to Michael’s today and buy supplies for my next mushroom-themed craft project: freehand embroidery. Stay tuned!