Excavations from the Past

I love looking through old Ceramics Monthly magazines – even if they are decades old. Recently a former member of our guild donated some old ones to us and I have spent the winter months happily engrossed with images from the past. This photo of a jug by Sheila Casson from Sept 1993 caught my eye – very elegant and unusual. Not sure how it would pour - though with that long spout, probably very elegantly.

Jug by Sheila Casson - from Ceramics Monthly 1990's 

Individual Medalta creamer found in crawl space

When investigating a sink leak in the crawl space under the Potters' Guild, I found that our leaking plumbing had eroded some of the sandy soil and had exposed this little ceramic creamer. I remember the days before plastic creamers. It was always a little individual ceramic or metal jug of cream that was placed with your tea or coffee. The space where we have our Guild used to be a restaurant until about 1970 and so the creamer must have come from it – made in Medalta even!

So I decided to make some miniature ones –  little creamers but ala Sheila Casson - sort of. You throw a cylinder, cut away part of it in a semicircle and fold over the two ends.

My three small jugs ala Sheila Casson  - sort of.

Have Mug Will Travel

My husband and I always have a full travel mug of our favorite hot beverage when we set off in our car – milky tea for my husband and lately hibiscus tea with honey for me. Unfortunately I find that most travel mugs even if made of metal because of their plastic lids tend to impart their taste to the tea and I have long thought of making a ceramic one – but how to make a cover to stop the beverage from spilling? I do not like the look of the commercial plastic covers that you can buy as an accessory from ceramic suppliers - plus being plastic there is that plastic taste again.

When I was visiting a gallery in Banff a month ago, I was told about a potter who makes great travel mugs – located in Canmore a town near Banff. Unfortunately we were going in the opposite direction so did not get to visit, but the gallery salesperson brought up the website site ----- and they really did look great – especially clever idea for the cork lids and the little sippy holes.

Original design travel mugs by John and Katie Borrowman of the Cabbage and Kings Pottery
in Canmore Alberta.

A few days later we arrived at our son’s home in Kimberly, BC and in searching for some cups in his cupboard I saw that he had two of those travel mugs! I asked him how he liked them – well he did not use them as he never uses a travel mug. I never did get a chance to try them out in the car, but they handle well, though heavier naturally than the plastic or metal ones.

Great mugs -- so kudos to John and Katie Borrowman at http://www.ofcabbagesandkings.ca/