Journal Entry #2

Cups without handles by Haemi Jung.

Everyone who lives in this world use a cup for many reasons. They drinking water or coffee, even they put some pens in it. I guess we can’t live without a cup. A cup with handle is mostly used for drinking something. However, a cup without handle could use for everything.

There is no limitation for decoration and function, so it could be used for anything. If a cup looks pretty, we can put in display case for decoration.  Also, it could be a flowerpot.

One function that I really love is that I can feel the temperature in the cup. So I can feel it warm, also I can feel it cool. It makes feel really great. Of course, really hot stuff will be not fit on this. 

Lastly, we are using a cup everyday but actually we’ve never thought about a cup. I guess it’s too familiar and close with us. Even if we drink water in a nice cup, we can get a different feeling. I guess that is a attraction of a cup.

Cups Without Handles-Courtney Hottowe

Cups without Handles

This was a difficult subject to start writing about. So I went into Google and looked up some interesting pictures of “cups without handles”. There are many different styles and shapes of cups that are available without handles. For example, there are coffee mugs and cups, water cups, shot glasses, and bowls are practically cups with no handles. The cup that is used most among college students is the party cup, a simple plastic cup that comes in multiple colors and is easily mass-produced. Although they are easily made, they are not very artistic and do not usually have any creativity added to them unless you add it yourself!

There are many different styles of the coffee cup or mug. The cup can come in glass and plastic versions mostly with handles but there are a few without, and the mug is usually made of plastic and can be used to keep the beverage warm. These are interesting because of the designs that are put on to them. Lately Starbucks has been making ceramic coffee mugs that are easier on the environment! When they are ceramic they are thicker and keep the drink warmer and they are able to paint better designs onto them unlike the plastic ones that usually don’t have designs because they need to be dishwasher safe. The downside of ceramic mugs is that they aren’t dishwasher safe.

Shot glasses are also a great way to put creativity to work. There are so many ceramic shot glasses with designs and colors and are easily made. Shot glasses although easily made, need to be very precise with their sizes because of what they are used for. It may be difficult for a beginner, especially me, to make a shot glass because of the size and the exact amount of liquid that is supposed to be held. Here is a picture of a shot glass I found especially creative. J

Water cups are not usually ceramic, they are often plastic or glass but they can still be used creatively, and in many different ways. There are many different shapes and sizes of cups, as we are currently learning with our cylinder assignment, that it is easy to make many different heights of cylinders, it’s the width that makes the cup different mostly. Plastic water cups many times are larger than glass cups because of the weight of the cup and the danger of dropping or breaking the cup. Also, plastic cups are more often colorful and artistic. Glass cups are artistic in the way they are shaped and the grooves in the glass. I prefer plastic cups because they don’t break and you can get ones that have lids and straws!

Pots

The rustic look of these mugs spark my attention. Whenever I
see them in someone’s cupboards or I am handed a cup of steaming hot chocolate,
the mug is what I notice first. In this class, I want to learn how the colors
were created and be able to make my own.

To throw one of these pots, I would have to learn how to use
my arm muscles and steady my hands. I love the shape and texture of this piece.
Everyone makes throwing look so easy. Maybe soon, I will make it look easy. I
am excited to learn how to throw a pot like this.

Before the design was put on these small pots, they were
plain and not something I would be interested in taking home.. They needed
something to catch your eye. Now that
the design has been etched on, the pots look more decretive. The shape is very
appealing, as well.

This piece is my favorite so far! I love the swirl, the
colors, and the chips. I’m not sure what this work would be used for other than
decoration but I would buy it.

Mugs- Kayla Rodriguez

These mugs were originally thrown on the wheel, and that is how they got their initial shape and then altered to get their unique pattern and design. The pattern itself is very detailed, but what I noticed the most about these mugs, other than their pattern, is the handles. They look extremely delicate, but being a mug, they should be quite durable, at least I would hope so.


This mug, similar to the first in how it was made, being thrown on the wheel then later altered to get the unique pattern is quite different in the general appeal. The first collection of mugs were delicate looking, extravagent even due to their intricate detailed pattern. While this mug looks simple but crafty, more of an everyday mug that I would actually use.



This mug was thrown on the wheel as well but with porcelain. I like the shape of this mug a lot because of the super tiny bottom and the exaggerated middle. My favorite thing about this mug in particular is the glaze work. First off it isn't shiny all the way around and I am into the dull look. Secondly, the fading around the middle and dark fading around the edges looks really sweet. Lastly, the blob creeping around the side of the mug is cool because it accents the peaceful look of fading dullness.

Lastly, is this picture of these two mugs beautifully crafted, imperfections and all. Sadly, I am unable to put the picture up at the moment... but I will try again tomorrow! (http://accessceramics.org/viewimage/549/) However, I enjoy these mugs a lot because it is clear that the artist wasn't concerned with getting the most perfect product. The mugs are not symmetrical, and their glaze has no rhyme nor reason but I think that makes them all the more beautiful.

Handle-lacking Mugs, By Joe Savidge

While these mugs don’t have handles, they do have cuddly cute little faces.  However, the artist is using the cute faces as a distraction from the true intent:  To deliver a message of the beast with three rows of six (666) cups.  I also like the color schemes and the little potbellies.  A few have what look to be teardrops.  Nice.

Another sweet, precious, cute piece by Mikey Walsh featuring bulging eyes that leave me wondering what these little half-penguins have been doing.  I think the piece does a good job of mixing innocence with derangement:  Would your grandma put these on display?

This is a beautiful beer-drinking mug.  Amazing detail all the way through to the cup’s deification by its cushioned-pedestal placement.  I don’t know where I would drink from, but I’m sure that can be figured out.  I’d like to know more about the people on the cup because I smell a whiff of history from this Bavarian-looking piece.

  

Zoom in and notice that these finely crafted handle-lacking cups are advertising bottom shelf whiskey by the name of Black Velvet.  Why not Chivas Regal?  Johnnie Walker?  Well, maybe it’s an ode to the poor man who can still have appreciation for the fine arts.  Or maybe not.  Either way, these cups interest me even more because of their square bottoms and rounded tops. 

What is visually intriguing or conceptually fascinating to you?

 I am visually intrigued by textures and patterns, largely the patterns and textures of animals’ skin and fur. There is something so beautiful about how unique each kind of animal is. I love the patterns of cheetahs, giraffes, or zebras, and the textures of alligators, elephants, or snakes.

                It is inspiring to think that so many different types of fur/skin were created naturally, and here we are with the ability to create all types of patterns.  To me finding a way to incorporate these different animalistic features into my pottery would be awesome.

                Another thing about animals that is visually stimulating is the wide variety of colors that they present. Animals display such a wide variety of shape, texture, color, sound, and ability. It is so cool how different each one is. So I guess I am inspired by animals and their actions.

                As cheesy as it sounds my own cat has been my inspiration for several things I have done in my life, so I guess it makes sense that I would be artistically inspired by him as well as all other types of animals.