This time of year it’s always crazy busy time for me at work. It’s about 1/2 way through the term…lots of marking!! What better way to de-stress and forget about work for a bit…than to go out with a group of co-workers. We went to Snug Harbour Restaurant for dinner…to start off our evening. The food was amazing… East Coast Salmon + Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie = happy gal! Perfect start to the night…
After dinner we headed just down the road to 4Cats Port Credit for a little bit of team building while we got our hands dirty and made a hand build clay mug! Such a fun bright amazing creative space…they offer all kinds of art & craft classes for kids, adults and families.
It’s been a few years since I’ve had my hands in clay. The camp that I worked at when I was in my late teens and early 20s I spent a lot of time in the craft shop… where I made a few creations…mugs, candle lanterns, bowls, vases and a bunch of other gifts for family and friends! I was excited to get back at it and make another mug…and see if I still had it in me to make something.
Starting off…used a wire cutter to cut off a piece of clay off the slab…then had to drop it onto the canvas…from an over hand throw…to get any air bubbles out of it…
Then it was time to roll out the clay…the trick is evenly spread out the clay evenly–if you don’t… you’ll have a thick edge of your mug…and a way too thin side!
You need to ‘scratch’ and ‘slip’ your clay whenever you join up two pieces. (If you don’t… when the clay dries…it shrinks and pulls apart.) Just make up a few scratches on each side that join… then add a bit of water…and press them together!
The next step was to trace out a circle for the bottom of the mug…scratch and slip it, and press it into place! Then I pulled a handle for my mug…decided to go for a big one…
…our teacher was great to explain all the steps and help out if we needed. But mainly we did our own thing…and had a lot of fun! Isn’t that what team building nights are all about?
The night was more than just making mugs…it was fun to share stories and laugh. It was totally what I needed. It also made me realize how happy I am when I’m making stuff… maybe I should look around for another class or something.
…the last step was to paint our clay with glaze. The colours are a wee bit muted, but once they are fired in the kiln they will get all shiny and a bit more bright. All of our mugs & vases look so pretty and unique just like us!
I work with a bunch of great people…this was not something new I learned last night. I was glad to spend time with a few of these awesome people outside of the office..hanging out and playing with clay.
I decided to leave the seam..but most others smoothed out the joint so they had a smooth mug. I free-handed a few stars to cut out and then add to my mug…. and then with the left over clay I had I made a small pinch pot, I figured I could use for a tea bag holder or hold some spare change!
Can’t wait to see my mug in a few weeks once it’s all glazed…not sure that I’ll actually drink a tea out of it, but it will make a really fun pencil holder for my desk!