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For
more than 3 decades, Joseph and I (Elisabeth) have been sculpting in clay and
exhibiting at west coast, Nevada & Arizona art shows. We have also
exhibited in The Netherlands and our work can be found as far as Japan and Australia.
Joseph is the potter, hand forming the vessels. We both sculpt, fire and
finish the mugs. We use lead free clays and glazes that they formulate.
There are no "jiggering" or "slip casting" production methods used in
our
work. All pieces are signed originals.
Along
with the Celebrity and Custom Mugs, we create many other specialty items, as
well as Occupational, Sport, Fantasy and Animal mugs for wholesale and our
few retail
shows. through out the year. We work primarily together but during
the Holiday season we've had production help.
The
Process
We begin
by hauling a ton of clay to the studio. Joseph wedges a 25lb. bag into
even chunks for the wheel. He then proceeds to "throw" 60 +/- cylinders
at a sitting. (That's about what the kiln holds!) After
slightly drying, handles are added to the cylinders. We retrieve them
from damp storage when each sculpture is added. To achieve a
variety of colors, we use several clays and have created many colors to add to
the sculptures. The work is bisque fired. (That takes a few days) We stain each piece (to achieve that
antiqued detail), and glaze them with our own recipes. The work is
high
fired. (another 2 days) When we unload the kiln, some pieces need
an addition of metallic and/or red acrylics to be finished. We don't
recommend a dishwasher for these.
Yes, it's
a Labor of love, with LABOR being the operative word.
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