As potters, we often find ourselves inspired by the clay body in our hands. For years, whenever I worked with porcelain, the smooth, white clay seemed to be telling me to make delicate, graceful shapes, while dark-colored, groggy stonewares begged to become rough-and-tumble, robust forms. This kind of thinking led to me making a whole lot of conventional pots, until my contrary nature kicked in and I asked myself what would happen if I did the opposite of what the clay seemed to ask for. So, I took the roughest stoneware clay body I could find and made a thin, smooth, careful, multi-part teacup out of it. To add to the effect of disrupted visual expectations, I also fired them in a soda kiln, combining the chaos of the atmospheric surface with the very controlled and careful form of the cup. The result is a cup that defies conventions while still being rooted in a traditional form.
Choose Your Clay Body
While the teacup form can be made out of any clay body, I recommend using something with a lot of grog, and throwing thin. I use Highwater’s Craggy Crunch, but there are a lot of other groggy clay bodies on the market that would do just fine. If you want to use your usual clay body, try wedging sand or grog into it a little at a time until it feels gritty. If it feels like it’s exfoliating your skin, you’ve probably done it right!
Create the Cup Body
Next, put 7/8 pound of your gritty clay on the wheel and throw a narrow-based cup with rounded sides, about 4 inches in height × 4½ inches in width with a 3/16-inch-thick rim. Using a flexible rib, scrape away any slip resting on the surface of the pot and smooth away any finger rings. When the clay is no longer sticky, use the curved edge of a wooden rib to indent the top half of the cup in four places, spaced equally around the circumference (1). It is important to make the indentations while the clay is still soft and malleable to avoid cracking. Place a hand on the interior of the cup to provide support, and gently rock the rib from the rim down to the midpoint. Looking down at the cup from above, place a fingertip in each of the indented spots on the rim and gently nudge away any unevenness (2).
When the cup reaches leather hard, put it back on the wheel to trim the hidden foot. The exterior of the cup will not show the foot ring when standing upright, but instead will have a slight reverse-curve shape near the bottom (3). Cut away any remaining thickness near the bottom of the wall, carving it into the desired shape. Next, use a flexible metal or silicone rib to polish the trimmed exterior of the cup, erasing all the trimming marks left by the tool. It helps to fit the curved end of the rib right into the concave indent near the foot (4).
Take the cup off of the wheel and, placing one hand as a support on the inside, use a damp sponge to gently wipe away the sharpness of the lines left by the wooden rib (5). With this clay body, doing so will bring grog and sand to the surface as the smaller particles get wiped away. This enhances the contrast between the elegant curves and the rough clay body, so feel free to wipe the rest of the cup as well to roughen it up.
Create the Handle
Pull two handles just slightly thicker than the rim of the cup, one large enough to curve around 2–3 fingers, and the other at least the length of a thumb. They should have a thick end, a thin end, and an oval cross section. Lay them out to dry in a question-mark shape, with the larger one as the top of the question mark and the smaller one as the stem (6).
When the handles are a soft leather hard, cut both ends of the smaller handle so it is roughly a comma shape with rounded terminals, and the thin end has about a centimeter overlap with the thin end of the larger, curved upper handle (7). Smooth and pinch the ends with your fingers or a sponge to get rid of any roughness or unevenness. Lay the cut, smaller piece back down on the table, lining it up where it will overlap the larger piece. Before cutting, try holding it up to the cup to check the proportions. When you are sure about the size, cut rounded terminals on both ends of the larger piece (8, 9), and smooth them out.
Assemble and Attach the Handle
The multi-part handles can be difficult to work with if they are too wet. Because I lay them out to dry close to their final shape, I don’t have to bend or adjust them much when I am attaching them, so even the leather-hard handles don’t crack. However, they should be soft enough that you can still make small shape adjustments and you can cut them without chipping.
Score and slip the cup and the thicker ends of the two handles. Put a hand inside the cup to provide counter-pressure, and press the handles onto the cup firmly (10). Once the two thick ends are attached and lined up, score and slip the thin end of each handle and firmly pinch them together between a finger and thumb (11). Adjust the curve and straighten the handle as needed.
To make the indented thumb rest for the top of the handle, roll a ball of clay in your hands, about the circumference of a dime. Use your fingers to press the ball of clay over your thumb, shaping it into a concave disk (12). You can smooth the edges of the disk with your fingers as needed to get rid of any small cracks and lightly pinch any thicker areas to even up the edge. Once you are satisfied with your thumb rest, score, slip, and attach it to the handle and the rim of the cup, making contact with both (13).
Allow the handle to set up to a medium leather hard, then use a rubber-tipped tool to clean up and refine the areas of attachment (14). A small, wet paintbrush can also work wonders to smooth away any messy marks. Clean up the seams carefully, making sure to keep them distinct, rather than blended together.
Drying, Glazing, and Firing
This clay body is very forgiving, but even so, because I am assembling multiple pieces in the leather-hard state, I wrap the whole cup in plastic to dry it slowly and evenly. Once bisque fired, I dip my teacups in a rutile glaze and fire them to cone 10 in a cross-draft, propane-fueled soda kiln, which I stoke with small amounts of wood. The atmosphere interacts with the glaze in a variety of interesting ways, and depending on the amount of soda that hits the piece and the exact temperature in a particular part of the kiln, it creates a surface anywhere between a yellowish matte and a shiny purple, often on different sides of the same piece. I love the contrast between the highly controlled, thin, refined shape of the form and the elemental roughness of the groggy clay in the atmospheric kiln. To emphasize the contrast, I sometimes apply a layer of gold luster to the rims. When it comes out of the cone-018 luster firing, the sandy-looking edges where the grog is exposed are a shining gold, simultaneously rough and ultra fancy!
All process photos: Greg Jacobs.
Shari Jacobs earned her MFA at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and now spends her time making pots and teaching pottery. You can learn more at TheMuddyRabbit.com or find her on Instagram @TheMuddyRabbit.
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As potters, we often find ourselves inspired by the clay body in our hands. For years, whenever I worked with porcelain, the smooth, white clay seemed to be telling me to make delicate, graceful shapes, while dark-colored, groggy stonewares begged to become rough-and-tumble, robust forms. This kind of thinking led to me making a whole lot of conventional pots, until my contrary nature kicked in and I asked myself what would happen if I did the opposite of what the clay seemed to ask for. So, I took the roughest stoneware clay body I could find and made a thin, smooth, careful, multi-part teacup out of it. To add to the effect of disrupted visual expectations, I also fired them in a soda kiln, combining the chaos of the atmospheric surface with the very controlled and careful form of the cup. The result is a cup that defies conventions while still being rooted in a traditional form.
Choose Your Clay Body
While the teacup form can be made out of any clay body, I recommend using something with a lot of grog, and throwing thin. I use Highwater’s Craggy Crunch, but there are a lot of other groggy clay bodies on the market that would do just fine. If you want to use your usual clay body, try wedging sand or grog into it a little at a time until it feels gritty. If it feels like it’s exfoliating your skin, you’ve probably done it right!
Create the Cup Body
Next, put 7/8 pound of your gritty clay on the wheel and throw a narrow-based cup with rounded sides, about 4 inches in height × 4½ inches in width with a 3/16-inch-thick rim. Using a flexible rib, scrape away any slip resting on the surface of the pot and smooth away any finger rings. When the clay is no longer sticky, use the curved edge of a wooden rib to indent the top half of the cup in four places, spaced equally around the circumference (1). It is important to make the indentations while the clay is still soft and malleable to avoid cracking. Place a hand on the interior of the cup to provide support, and gently rock the rib from the rim down to the midpoint. Looking down at the cup from above, place a fingertip in each of the indented spots on the rim and gently nudge away any unevenness (2).
When the cup reaches leather hard, put it back on the wheel to trim the hidden foot. The exterior of the cup will not show the foot ring when standing upright, but instead will have a slight reverse-curve shape near the bottom (3). Cut away any remaining thickness near the bottom of the wall, carving it into the desired shape. Next, use a flexible metal or silicone rib to polish the trimmed exterior of the cup, erasing all the trimming marks left by the tool. It helps to fit the curved end of the rib right into the concave indent near the foot (4).
Take the cup off of the wheel and, placing one hand as a support on the inside, use a damp sponge to gently wipe away the sharpness of the lines left by the wooden rib (5). With this clay body, doing so will bring grog and sand to the surface as the smaller particles get wiped away. This enhances the contrast between the elegant curves and the rough clay body, so feel free to wipe the rest of the cup as well to roughen it up.
Create the Handle
Pull two handles just slightly thicker than the rim of the cup, one large enough to curve around 2–3 fingers, and the other at least the length of a thumb. They should have a thick end, a thin end, and an oval cross section. Lay them out to dry in a question-mark shape, with the larger one as the top of the question mark and the smaller one as the stem (6).
When the handles are a soft leather hard, cut both ends of the smaller handle so it is roughly a comma shape with rounded terminals, and the thin end has about a centimeter overlap with the thin end of the larger, curved upper handle (7). Smooth and pinch the ends with your fingers or a sponge to get rid of any roughness or unevenness. Lay the cut, smaller piece back down on the table, lining it up where it will overlap the larger piece. Before cutting, try holding it up to the cup to check the proportions. When you are sure about the size, cut rounded terminals on both ends of the larger piece (8, 9), and smooth them out.
Assemble and Attach the Handle
The multi-part handles can be difficult to work with if they are too wet. Because I lay them out to dry close to their final shape, I don’t have to bend or adjust them much when I am attaching them, so even the leather-hard handles don’t crack. However, they should be soft enough that you can still make small shape adjustments and you can cut them without chipping.
Score and slip the cup and the thicker ends of the two handles. Put a hand inside the cup to provide counter-pressure, and press the handles onto the cup firmly (10). Once the two thick ends are attached and lined up, score and slip the thin end of each handle and firmly pinch them together between a finger and thumb (11). Adjust the curve and straighten the handle as needed.
To make the indented thumb rest for the top of the handle, roll a ball of clay in your hands, about the circumference of a dime. Use your fingers to press the ball of clay over your thumb, shaping it into a concave disk (12). You can smooth the edges of the disk with your fingers as needed to get rid of any small cracks and lightly pinch any thicker areas to even up the edge. Once you are satisfied with your thumb rest, score, slip, and attach it to the handle and the rim of the cup, making contact with both (13).
Allow the handle to set up to a medium leather hard, then use a rubber-tipped tool to clean up and refine the areas of attachment (14). A small, wet paintbrush can also work wonders to smooth away any messy marks. Clean up the seams carefully, making sure to keep them distinct, rather than blended together.
Drying, Glazing, and Firing
This clay body is very forgiving, but even so, because I am assembling multiple pieces in the leather-hard state, I wrap the whole cup in plastic to dry it slowly and evenly. Once bisque fired, I dip my teacups in a rutile glaze and fire them to cone 10 in a cross-draft, propane-fueled soda kiln, which I stoke with small amounts of wood. The atmosphere interacts with the glaze in a variety of interesting ways, and depending on the amount of soda that hits the piece and the exact temperature in a particular part of the kiln, it creates a surface anywhere between a yellowish matte and a shiny purple, often on different sides of the same piece. I love the contrast between the highly controlled, thin, refined shape of the form and the elemental roughness of the groggy clay in the atmospheric kiln. To emphasize the contrast, I sometimes apply a layer of gold luster to the rims. When it comes out of the cone-018 luster firing, the sandy-looking edges where the grog is exposed are a shining gold, simultaneously rough and ultra fancy!
All process photos: Greg Jacobs.
Shari Jacobs earned her MFA at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and now spends her time making pots and teaching pottery. You can learn more at TheMuddyRabbit.com or find her on Instagram @TheMuddyRabbit.
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