As you probably know by now, I work by myself in a studio, doing a job that doesn't always require my full brain. I have strategies for keeping myself entertained, my favorite is probably audiobooks. (Shout-out to my local public library, where I get them for free.)

A have listened to the entire series of Jack Reacher books by Lee Child. I am crazy for Reacher. I admire his minimalist and independent life, and his unflappable personality. His senses of duty and justice are worthy enough to forgive all of the neck bones he has crushed. 

(By the way, book Reacher does not bear any resemblance to movie Reacher. And I'm not just talking about physical appearance. Book Reacher has no ego, he doesn't care about praise or credit. Movie Reacher is very self-conscious. Do I look tough enough? Can they tell I'm short? I don't begrudge Lee Child for taking the biggest movie rights deal he could get. He earned it. As for Tom Cruise, buying something is not the same as earning it.)

One of Reacher's quirks is his addiction to coffee. He never turns down a chance to drink coffee. He'll drink any coffee, good or bad, at any time of day, from any cup. But he knows what type of cup he prefers, and notices when he's using one that he likes.

"A bad coffee mug has a thick lip—too wide, too shallow, too much mass—it will cool the drink too fast. A good coffee mug is cylindrical in shape, narrow in relation to its height and with a thin lip."

For years I have only made mugs in one size: enormous. They hold about 20 oz. This is how I drink coffee, one giant cup in the morning. Customers regularly ask me for normal sized mugs, but I have never felt compelled to make them until now. Now I want to make a mug that Reacher would like. 

But before I could do that, I had to reconcile my confusion about Reacher's description of an ideal mug. I understand why a wide or shallow mug would allow coffee to cool too fast. But I was surprised at the idea that a thick-walled mug would hasten the cool-down. I always assumed a thicker-walled ceramic vessel would be a better insulator, not worse. Then I started to think about it in terms of refractories, which are all of the dense objects that are inside a kiln when firing. Refractories mostly refer to kiln shelves and posts, but the pots themselves are refractories too. We potters know that the more refractories we have in a kiln, the more energy it takes to fire, because refractories absorb a lot of energy before they can act as insulators and radiators of energy. 

Does a thick-walled mug absorb heat like a refractory? I decided to find out for sure, in a situation that simulates coffee drinking, not kiln firing. I made two nearly identical vessels. One with a thin 1/8 inch wall, and one with a thicker 1/4 inch wall. I filled them with equal amounts of boiling water, then started taking the water's temperature. I measured the temperature at one minute intervals, for ten minutes.

I ran this test four times. I made sure to return the cups to room temperature in between, by running them under cool water. The results had some small variations but were overall consistent. In the first two minutes of the test, the thick cup lost 3 or 4 more degrees than the thin cup. After two minutes (I'm guessing this is when both cups were sufficiently heated through) both cups lost heat at the same rate per minute. The difference is small, but technically Reacher is right.

"No doubt about that," Reacher would say. To himself inside his head.

Cylindrical in shape, narrow in relation to its height and with a thin lip. Glazed in a no-fuss colorblock of gray and off-white. Holds 10 to 12 oz. Positioned next to my "Enormous Coffee Mug" the official name on the hang tag will be "Normal-Sized Mug," with the subtitle "aka Jack Reacher's ideal coffee mug." These will be available for sale for the first time at my Open Studio, coming up on December 10-11. 

And no, I am not admitting that I drink too much coffee. I am only admitting that some people prefer to drink coffee in smaller quantities throughout the day. 

I've been chewing on an idea for a while. Years even, though not seriously until this year. I had no idea where to start, which is why it took me so long to embark on a solution. Back in the spring, I stumbled upon something online that looked promising, a class called "Meet the Bench" at the Baltimore Jewelry Center. This is a 4-week introductory class for complete novices at working with metal. It was great! I am amazed at how much ground was covered, even though I know it was just a tiny sample of metalworking skills. And I was so impressed by the BJC facility, which recently moved into its newly-renovated space on North Ave. So well-designed and organized! 

No, I'm not trying to make jewelry. In fact, during this class I learned for sure that I am not a jeweler. I don't have the patience to work on that small scale. And I seemed to injure myself a lot, and generally felt like a klutz in the jewelry studio. It's not my natural environment. I've concluded that jewelers have finer motor skills than potters.

The actualization of my idea turned out to be fairly simple. But there's no way I would have figured it out without taking this class. This class taught me about different types of metal, and how to buy it. I also learned about proper tools, how to use them, and how to buy them. 
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The handle is made from food-grade stainless steel. This is very close to the design that lived in my head for so long. I love that it looks and feels secure, while still conveying a sense of holding on lightly. Needless to say, my excitement for making teapots has been renewed.

I was invited to give a demonstration to ceramics students at Anne Arundel Community College. I was glad to have a diversion from my usual studio routine, and glad to be inside a classroom again. Thank you for the invitation, Rick Malmgren! And to the students who suggested my name. Rick was interested in seeing a demo of my slip carving techniques. I wasn't sure that could fill a four hour demo, so he said that throwing demos were always welcome too. I decided to plan a throwing demo that was all about lids, because lidded forms are probably my favorite forms to throw, and I have a lot to say about them. 

Look at this beautiful classroom. It's huge and well-equipped. Outlets everywhere!

I started with some small jars. One with an upside-down lid, and one with a right-side up lid.

Now on to something larger. I shaped a casserole body, then measured it for its lid, then cut the lid to the right size.

We took a break for lunch (potter potlucks are the best potlucks), then I started carving some leather hard pots that I brought from home. I brushed on the white slip before our break, so the slip could dry to leather hard while we ate. The first piece was a two-sided vase.

And I finished with a carving of a koi fish in a large bowl.

I was done a little after 3pm, and since I had the rest of the day off, I drove into downtown Annapolis and did something I've always wanted to do but never have. I walked through the Maryland State House like a tourist. What a great way to spend a fall day!