100 Mugs

August 2023 - November 2024

This work in progress is challenging me to think about basic mug shapes, lips, and feet.

As I have come to finish this project at the end of November 2024, I look back and reflect on the past year of creating and how my work has changed. Throughout this process, I have been determined to include every mug, from success to failure, trying to remove any judgement I have to show growth. Failure has been the key idea that has driven me to continue this project. Working through the why’s, what’s, and how’s, which has led me to feel that I now have some ground to stand on when I begin to create. That was the entire goal of this challenge, to find that ground and work off of it. Through this project, I have experimented with different types of firing (soda, wood, reduction vs oxidation), different clay bodies (stoneware vs porcelain), throwing vs hand building, and a variety of different glazes (some major wins and some major losses). It wasn’t until the last 20 mugs where I felt like I found my style and what I want to make and put my name on. I am definitely not proud of every mug in this series but am proud to see the growth and learning demonstrated through the past year. This challenge has also cemented my love for the mug/cup and the variety that can be made by focusing on one shape/idea. I’m interested in doing a challenge like this again, to continue to push myself.