Handcrafted Husband





Shortly after Justin and I moved to northeast Ohio, I met a woman named Sarah who owns a nearby art studio.  Sarah is an amazing clay artist with a full studio that offers classes and she opens up her studio space to artists wanting to work on their own projects.  It's a pretty amazing setup she has and the art community she is building in this area!

Last month I decided to make a funny little gift for the Mr. and made a character mug inspired by his face.  The idea originated from a couple that celebrated their engagement day at the art studio and made mugs inspired by each other that they will drink out of on their wedding day.  I also thought that with Justin's beard, glasses, bigger ears and classic smirk that he would make a really fun mug!

The handcrafted husband mug started with a basic shape that Sarah created on the wheel.  Then, I formed little facial features that I added to the mug.  This was actually a lot more difficult than I expected!  Once the mug was assembled, Sarah fired it for me and then I was able to add different glazes before it's second firing process in the kiln.  For this project, I just added glazes on the inside of the mug, his beard, glasses and a little on his face.  I let the glaze soak into the cracks around his eyes and mouth, and then took a sponge and wiped the surface to give it a smooth matte look.

I can honestly say that the mug turned out very different than what I envisioned, but I get a good laugh every time I see it!  I am very curious as to what my character mug would look like if Justin created one of me!
That thought actually scares me a little....

1 friendly comments:

Unknown said...

That is so sweet/funny! I think you did a great job. :)

We have a local place that you can go to and glaze/paint pottery and dishes and they will fire it for you. I really really want to try it soon. I think personalized gifts like that are so much better than generic ones!!