In January of 2023, I sat down with a blank piece of paper to write out my goals for the year. I wanted to add more play and experimentation into my practice, which I hadn’t made a priority in past years. I’ve always admired the 100-day challenges artists do throughout the year. I’ve attempted some of these challenges in the past, but with young kids at home and a studio practice that works around my family’s needs, I have a hard time completing them. I decided to create my own challenge to fit my needs. I also wanted to create sellable items that could ultimately become a larger, cohesive body of work to show in a gallery. So, I jotted down some parameters and ideas and ultimately came up with five rules.
Five Rules
100 cups made in 2023. A year seemed like a realistic time frame for me.
Similar shape and size/weight (12–14 oz of clay), without a handle. This was important to me because it allowed me to focus on surface design and consistency rather than form.
Each cup must have a different surface technique or firing method. This is where play and experimentation came in.
Share, but not sell, each cup on social media, numbered in order of completion. Like a lot of artists, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. This project gave me something I was always excited to share! Numbering the pieces was more for myself, I was curious if my ideas flowed together or ping-ponged around.
Gallery show with cups in 2024. The last time I had work shown in a gallery was in college in 2008—it was time!
Getting Started
I had a lot of ideas in my sketchbooks over the years to get me started. It was fun to take 2-D sketches and create 3-D versions of them. This is how the idea of a 3-D sketchbook formed. I inlaid, stained, painted, and carved. I used thick and thin slip, underglaze, mimicked visual mending patterns, dripped paint and ran my rib through it. I scratched, poked, you name it. I played with tape on bisqueware to see how it looked over texture. I paired unglazed and natural surfaces with high-gloss sections. I fired to cone-10 in reduction at my community studio and to cone-5 in oxidation in my electric kiln at home. I used multiple clay bodies.
Results
I was constantly surprised by the results. I found myself pleased with the outcome of each cup even when it didn’t meet my expectations. My failed attempts actually cleared space in my head to try a different approach or move on to another idea. I imagined myself doing about ten cups/month with the project completed by November. Realistically, I made batches as my time allowed and with the ebbs and flows of creativity. I ended up making the last 30 cups in December after I finished my art markets for the year. This propelled me to think of more ways to include play and self-made challenges in my practice.
In April of 2024, my solo exhibition, “100 Cups: A 3-D Sketchbook,” opened at Red Kiln Gallery in Salt Lake City. The pieces were a showcase of the versatility of clay. My cup was filled, literally and metaphorically.
Amanda Green earned her BFA in ceramics from Truman State University in 2008. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three kids. She is a stay-at-home mom, part-time studio potter, and studio assistant at Red Kiln Clay Studio and Gallery. To see more, visit www.amandagreenpottery.com or @amandagpotteryon Instagram, where you can see all 100 cups made in 2023.
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In January of 2023, I sat down with a blank piece of paper to write out my goals for the year. I wanted to add more play and experimentation into my practice, which I hadn’t made a priority in past years. I’ve always admired the 100-day challenges artists do throughout the year. I’ve attempted some of these challenges in the past, but with young kids at home and a studio practice that works around my family’s needs, I have a hard time completing them. I decided to create my own challenge to fit my needs. I also wanted to create sellable items that could ultimately become a larger, cohesive body of work to show in a gallery. So, I jotted down some parameters and ideas and ultimately came up with five rules.
Five Rules
Getting Started
I had a lot of ideas in my sketchbooks over the years to get me started. It was fun to take 2-D sketches and create 3-D versions of them. This is how the idea of a 3-D sketchbook formed. I inlaid, stained, painted, and carved. I used thick and thin slip, underglaze, mimicked visual mending patterns, dripped paint and ran my rib through it. I scratched, poked, you name it. I played with tape on bisqueware to see how it looked over texture. I paired unglazed and natural surfaces with high-gloss sections. I fired to cone-10 in reduction at my community studio and to cone-5 in oxidation in my electric kiln at home. I used multiple clay bodies.
Results
I was constantly surprised by the results. I found myself pleased with the outcome of each cup even when it didn’t meet my expectations. My failed attempts actually cleared space in my head to try a different approach or move on to another idea. I imagined myself doing about ten cups/month with the project completed by November. Realistically, I made batches as my time allowed and with the ebbs and flows of creativity. I ended up making the last 30 cups in December after I finished my art markets for the year. This propelled me to think of more ways to include play and self-made challenges in my practice.
In April of 2024, my solo exhibition, “100 Cups: A 3-D Sketchbook,” opened at Red Kiln Gallery in Salt Lake City. The pieces were a showcase of the versatility of clay. My cup was filled, literally and metaphorically.
Amanda Green earned her BFA in ceramics from Truman State University in 2008. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three kids. She is a stay-at-home mom, part-time studio potter, and studio assistant at Red Kiln Clay Studio and Gallery. To see more, visit www.amandagreenpottery.com or @amandagpottery on Instagram, where you can see all 100 cups made in 2023.
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