I want a new Arrowmont mug!

In early spring of 1995 Steve Ford of Ford and Forlano taught a workshop in polymer clay and I was there. About Wednesday, during my lunch break, I visited the Arrowcraft Shop and bought two mugs. I still use the one above, and I pack it each time I spend a week at Arrowmont. They were made in 1994 by a potter named "Mangum." A quick consultation with Mr. Google brought me the Mangum Pottery website here: http://www.mangumpottery.com/ where I stayed a while and drooled over their current work.

I hear that Arrowmont mugs are frequently requested by new and returning students and I had an idea. What if students in pottery workshops made one mug per student just for Arrowmont and donated it to be sold in the Artists Outfitters Store or in a weekly or monthly mug sale to benefit the school or even specifically the clay studio? Clay instructors could get in on the project as well, with thrown and handbuilt mugs welcome. With or without handles, built large to hold a latte or tiny for espresso or right in the middle to hold the morning's first cup of black coffee or fragrant tea, the mugs could be used immediately and often.

A mug is an opportunity to try out a new technique on a small form and could spark some competition in making the largest or most beautiful or glazed with the most original glaze or the most humorous face or the most saleable...mmm. Options for mugs are endless. Mugs are a small investment that can grow into a collection; might be a collection of mugs or a more ambitious acquisition of fine ceramics. A mug is a wonderful gift for the person who has everything or for a father or husband or boyfriend who is difficult to shop for.

When I get to Arrowmont in September for Cynthia Toops' class in polymer clay I'm going to see if I can find a 2010 Arrowmont mug to add to the crowd.

Mugs by (left to right) Anna Silver, Kathleen Horst, J.R. Cooper, Joel Plum, unknown potter, Don Penny.