First up is the Gaeilge mugs. I made about a dozen of two different varieties. “Sláinte” (SLAWN-chuh) is an Irish-Gaelic toast meaning literally health. It can be used much like the English “cheers” so I thought it would work well on a mug.
Meanwhile, “mo chuisle” (muh CHWISH-luh) is a term of endearment. It was made famous in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby although it was mispronounced and even misspelled if I recall. It literally means “my pulse” and references a poetic turn of phrase only the Irish could produce: “You’re as close to me as the pulse of my own heart.” It is pronounced with an unvoiced fricative which I transcribed as “
The mugs were thrown large. I aimed for approximately 16oz a piece although this is the first time I’ve thrown this shape so I was just guessing. I thought they’d be a fun, whimsical mug. The stamp I used is not in Comic Sans Font but it does have a similar juvenile appeal. So I left the letters a bit off center and didn’t fuss too much if they were a bit crooked.
I think I’ve blogged about these espresso cups before but I wanted to show them again here so that you could see my new toy, or the results of my new toy anyway. My father-in-law is a fantastic, creative woodworker and I wanted to give him the credit he is due here. He made for me many of my tools but this gauge is the best. I use it to measure the height of my pottery while it’s still on the wheel. It swings in and out of place so I don’t have to worry about knocking it accidentally. I can use it as a simple gauge or I can actually score the pot with it and then cut off the top. In combination with my calipers I can throw essentially the same pot over and over again!
As always you can check out my etsy shop to buy pottery made exclusively by me!
www.potterybycuchulainn.etsy.com
No comments:
Post a Comment