Constructing Your Mug

• 1). Lay your canvas drop cloth over a flat surface and place your pound of clay on top.
  
  
• 2). Knead the clay to remove all of the air bubbles. Air bubbles will make your mug walls weak and very breakable.
  
  
• 3). Form your kneaded clay into a ball and place it at the center of the bat (round platform) on the pottery wheel. Leave a golf-ball sized piece of clay aside.
  
  
• 4). Place a bucket of water on the floor next to the pottery wheel so you can easily access it while using the wheel.
  
  
• 5). Start spinning the wheel at a low speed. If you have a kick wheel, just kick slowly. If your pottery wheel is electric, set it at a low speed with the user controls.
  
  
• 6). Push the clay back and forth to center it as the wheel spins. Once the clay stops wobbling and is just spinning, your clay is centered correctly. Set the speed higher, or kick more quickly.
  
  
• 7). Poke your finder or thumb into the center of the clay ball, downward through the top, to make an opening for the top of your mug. Do not poke all the way to the bat, or your mug will not have a bottom.
  
  
• 8). Hold one of your hands inside the opening you made, and the other hand tightly against the outside of the clay ball. Press your hands together slightly to the sides of the mug as the wheel spins.
  
  
• 9). Pull both of your hands upward to give the mug more height. Dip your hands in the bucket of water whenever the clay starts to dry out.
  
  
• 10
  
  Stop the wheel once your mug is as thick and tall as you want it to be. Hold a string taught and drag from one side of the mug (at the very bottom) to the other side to cut the bottom of the mug away from the bat.
  
  
• 11
  
  Roll your golf-ball sized piece of clay into a long roll and attach it to the side of your mug. This is the handle.
  
  
• 12
  
  Allow your mug to air-dry until the entire mug looks white and chalky.
  
  
• 13
  
  Pre-heat your kiln to 500 degrees F and turn it off. Place your mug inside carefully. Do not touch any part of the interior of the kiln with your hands. Wear protective gloves at all times when the kiln is open.
  
  
• 14
  
  Close the kiln and set the temperature to 1,600 degrees. Leave the mug inside for 14 hours.
  
  
• 15
  
  Turn off the kiln and allow it to cool for at least four hours. Remove the mug with the tongs, wearing your protective gloves, and allow the mug to cool overnight before touching it.
  
  

Glazing Your Mug

• 1). Sand your mug with fine grit sandpaper to remove roughness or imperfections on the surface and wipe away all the dust from sanding.
  
  
• 2). Choose a glaze color for your mug and paint a thin, even coat of it over your mug. Allow the glaze to dry and apply a second coat of glaze the same way. Do not apply glaze to the very bottom of the mug, or your mug will fuse to the kiln shelf.
  
  
• 3). Place your mug back into the kiln to cure the glaze for a food-safe and shiny surface. Set the temperature on the kiln according to your glaze packaging. Different colors must be fired at different temperatures and for different amounts of time to achieve the best result.
  
  
• 4). Turn off the kiln after the recommended amount of time on the glaze packaging. Allow the kiln to cool overnight before removing your mug with gloves and tongs.
  
  
• 5). Allow your mug to cool for at least six hours before handling or using it.