To mark the release of the revised edition of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” we asked the artists at SKT Ceramics in Cincinnati to design a large porcelain coffee mug in the company’s signature green-blue celadon glaze.
We are offering 100 of these handmade 12-ounce mugs. Each is stamped on the underside by SKT and signed by me. The mugs are about 4″ tall and 3-1/2″ in diameter at the rim. They are made with lead-free glaze and are both dishwasher and microwave safe.
The mug-making process began with Susannah Tisue – the founder of SKT Ceramics – visiting our workshop to photograph the chest and discuss what was important to see. Susannah then made several sketches to see what looked best.
The final design was silkscreened onto rice paper, then applied to the handmade porcelain. It was then fired, waxed, glazed and sanded over a period of a couple weeks to produce the finished mugs. Each one is a little different, and they have that familiar feel – that someone made this by hand.
We’ll have them up for sale sometime this week, $44 plus shipping.
Kale, Katherine and I shot the video above, documenting the process of making the mugs.
— Christopher Schwarz
Wow, not being a ceramic’s guy, I’ve not paid too much attention to this process. So much hand work! I’m surprised they don’t cost a whole lot more! Great video – thank you!
Well then, one of the potters I watch was talking about how much more porcelain shrinks vs. stoneware but that’s wild. Went from a massive mug to pretty normal sized after the final glaze firing. Super neat seeing how they can print onto a mug like that.
Just “wow”
Wow! That was neat to watch! The color change in the glaze was a surprise. Thank you.
One of the “interesting” things about glazing high fire (cone 6 to 10, I suspect these are in that range given it’s described as porcelain) is that the raw glaze color has no particular correlation with the fired glaze color… true celadon is a very small percentage of red iron oxide (think fancy rust) fired in a reducing (oxygen starved) atmosphere. Given the color of the glaze it looks like true celadon, not “celadon colored”, takes knowing what you are doing in the glaze firing. Definitely worth the price. Why yes I have played with mudpies a few times (cone 10 reduction) but not even close to that kind of color.
“COYS” to the guy in the Dele shirt.