“Some people feel the rain, others just get wet” ~ Bob Marley

There is something magical about water.  The sound of moving water in streams, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and oceans is calming and peaceful.  Even the rain can bring about feelings that sooth the spirit and refresh the soul.

Multonomah Falls, Columbia Gorge Scenic Waterfalls, Oregon

If you’re like me, you keep an umbrella in your car just in case you get caught in the rain.  How many times have you used it?  I have rarely used mine.  On the contrary, I enjoy getting caught out in the rain, to breath the fresh, crisp air.  I can feel myself smiling, mouth wide open, as I run through the rain to find cover.  When I finally get under shelter, I like to stop and turn around to watch the water falling for a while.  I find pleasure in watching the drops playing the role of both the ballet dancer moving through space taking their cue from the clouds that bore them, and the musicians in the orchestra creating their music as each drop hits a target, all orchestrated by nature.

Whether in the rain, the sea rolling in wave after foamy wave, the mist of a cascading waterfall, the melting ice breaking free from a glacier, or the steam exploding out of earth’s hot belly, I am captivated by the diverse forms and movements of water.  Its flow is seemingly random, yet it follows predetermined, familiar courses.  And through its movement, it sometimes magically carves and creates new trails, new adventures that are informed by those that came before.

For a long time, I was not aware there is a perfectly good and scientific reason why many of us enjoy being around flowing, falling, moving bodies of water.  In her recent article “Above the Water Line,” in Atlanta InTown Magazine, Sally Bethea explains the effects of “negative ions” created in nature and why being around moving water can improve our outlook.  “The action of the falling water or crashing surf (or even your bathroom shower) creates negative ions that bond with smaller particles.  When we breath in the charged air, the negative ions enters our bloodstream and produce biochemical reaction that are linked to reducing depression (by increasing serotonin level), relieving stress and boosting energy.” explains Sally.

Something else I like almost as much as an inspiring bodies of water, is drinking my morning coffee at home.  I’m sure you would agree there is nothing like a homemade cup of coffee or tea served in a handmade ceramic mug.  The fact that the mug is handmade somehow makes the beverage so much better.  I don’t have any “scientific” evidence for this phenomenon, but I do believe that we become much more connected with ourselves and with each other when we use or engage with handmade objects and art.  It awakens in us an awareness of our own creative potential and our relationship with nature.

For the past several months I have been testing glaze combinations to achieve a result that reminds me of moving water.  As I have continued to learn and experiment with glazes, I stayed open to failures so that I may learn from them.  Most of all, I was energized by the promise of creating work that is informed by the flowing, falling and moving bodies of water I so enjoy.  This is why I was so excited last weekend when I opened the kiln and was greeted by the beauties below.  Drinking coffee out of one of these was at once so especially familiar and extraordinarily magical.  It felt as if breathing in the refreshing air in the midst of an early morning rain.

Process and Glaze Recipes

The mugs on the images below were made using Laguna’s B-Mix Cone 5-6.  They were wheel thrown and altered, bisque fired to cone 04, then fired to cone 6.  Recipes for the glazes I used are listed below.

Inside liner glaze

Vero’s Base
Silica – 28
EPK – 28
Frit 3195 – 28
Lithium – 3
Wollastonite -13
add Titanium Dioxide – 6; Bentonite – 2

Layered on the outside

All glazes from John Britt’s The Complete Guide to Mid-Range Glazes

Forest Stream

Forest Stream Mug
Steve’s Matte Turquoise (page 123)
Neph Sye – 40
Silica – 18
Whiting – 9
EPK – 12
Strontium – 18
Lithium – 3
add: Copper Carb – 3; Bentonite – 2

Spearmint (page 108)
Neph Sye – 4
Silica – 17
Wallastonite 28
EPK 28
Frit 3134 23
Add: Copper Carb 4; Rutile 6; Bentonite 2

Beach Sunset

Beach Sunset Mug
F.M Matte White base (page 76)
F-4 Feldspar – 20
Silica – 6.5
Wollastonite – 47
EPK – 13.5
Frit 3134 – 8.4
Gerstley Borate – 4.6
add: Tin – 7.5; Chrome Oxide – .25; Cobalt Carb .2; Bentonite – 2

Jen’s Juicy Fruit base (page 177)
Neph Sye – 44.5
Silica – 10.9
Whiting – 10
EPK – 9.1
Frit 3124 – 8.2
Lithium Carb 8.2
Soda Ash – 9.1
Add: Copper Carb – 1; Cobalt Carb – 1; Titanium Dioxide 10