Post #353963 by Babalu on Wed, Jan 9, 2008 10:42 PM

Sure Hip,

They are not completely handmade...I took the slip casting and added, or hand built, similar low fire clay on to that. Every single square milometer of this casting was re-textured for you. I normally let the slip sit in the mold for about an hour before I pour it out...this gives the mug a nice thickness in my opinion. The Hip mugs are just a little thicker than the normal as I wanted extra stability in the body of the casting to be able to hold up to the application of additions. Each head was done one at a time. I started each by adding the beak. then the feathers were added one at a time and textured as I added. The Key was to dry them out a little slower than I normally would so the work would dry evenly before firing...Here are a couple of pictures...hope this helps you to understand the process a little better?

Thanks Cheeky! I would be honored to do a Cheeky mug sometime :-)