· 1 min read
How a carved trout mug is made
From a lump of clay to three spotted trout swimming around a mug — a peek at the sgraffito process.
Carved pieces are some of my favorite things to make, and also the slowest.
1. Throw and trim
The mug is thrown on the wheel, then left to firm up overnight until it's leather hard — stiff enough to hold its shape but still soft enough to carve.
2. A layer of dark slip
I brush on a coat of dark slip (liquid clay). This is the layer the drawing is carved through.
3. Carving
Each trout is sketched lightly and then carved line by line with a small loop tool, revealing the lighter clay underneath. Spots, fins, gills — one trout takes about half an hour.
4. Glaze and fire
After a bisque firing, the whole mug gets a translucent sky-blue glaze that pools in the carved lines, making them read darker. Then it's off to the final firing.
It's a lot of steps for one mug, but that's what makes each one completely its own.
