I’ve wanted to create a white mug since I started making mugs (which I resisted for a good while). Most of the forms I experimented with didn’t seem to ask for a white glaze and my preferred white glaze, a pearlescent schmear of yummy runnyness, doesn’t appreciate vertical forms. But then there was a tall misfit mug that didn’t fit in well with our other tall mugs. I loved it from the start, with it’s deep chattering, extra bit of curve, and larger handle. I set it aside and claimed it as mine. I had a number of white glazes on my mind to try but was impatient and simply used what I had on hand, Amaco’s Snow.
Snow is opaque and not great for texture so I wiped back some of the glaze on the chattering. It was a risk. I’ve often wiped back too much when trying this technique. I also risked glazing the interior clear (vs. white) in an effort to highlight the texture on the exterior that would peak out from the wiped back glaze.
Oh, man, I love this mug. Straight from the kiln, I wanted to photograph it on a bank of snow but in SC that’s a challenge. I spoke to Terry about driving to the NC mountains for a snowy background. I discussed creating a false, out-of-focus background with pillow stuffing. I considered mailing the mug to friends in northeast PA. I decided to fake the snowy background and gathered what I would need, including some holly berries and twinkle lights.
It was Christmas Eve. My window to photograph would be small as the light fades from perfect to dark o’clock quickly this time of year. Despite all my planning, I was elbow deep at the wheel when I should have been setting the scene. Before I knew it, the light was gone.
Perhaps it was my impatience or that my Christmas cookies are so good, but inspiration struck for me to photograph the mug by the Christmas tree.
So now it is called the Christmas Mug, lol.
I didn’t imagine a white mug would be a fan favorite. I did it solely for me, and Santa, apparently.
FaberSmith Press & Pottery 