The Coffee is Only as Good as the Cup You Put It In

I am an avid coffee drinker, and for me the coffee has usually been my focus. After taking a ceramics class however I have started considering the vessel as well as the beverage. I have found after that I am fonder of the natural look. Artist Chris Baskin makes cups with a very earthy feel that I feel very drawn to.

Above is a cup and saucer by Chris Baskin, I love the oranges that he chose for the outside of the cup. I am not just saying this because orange is one of my favorite colors; I really love how the color seems to burst across the cup and the plate. Another thing I enjoy about this cup is the beautiful Mediterranean blue on the inside of the cup. When I look at this cup I can see myself drinking a cup of tea, sitting outside and watching the sunset. I also really love the handle on this cup, it looks like it really fits the cup, I like the how it loops up above the rim of the cup, kind of offsetting the rim going slightly upwards across from it. Very whimsical, I love it.

These cups are also works of Chris Baskin, of course I love the colors, but on this cup I want to talk about the handle. I like how it comes right off the lip of the cup and attaches about halfway down the cup. To me it looks very natural, and it looks like it would be easy to hold with maybe one or two fingers. I also love the little decal that is under the handle, I think it is a nice artistic touch, it makes it feel personal to me.

Pictures from

http://accessceramics.org/results/artist/12/

accessed September 25, 2011

Angelina Rich- Cups and Handles Journal #1

Patrick Coughlin, an artist from New York has a unique way of exhibiting his work. He places his cups on elegant-looking pedestals which gives them a royal and expensive feel. He explains that most of his inspiration is from "Victorian era ceramics, silver and wallpaper, the photos of Bernd & Hilla Becher or the landscape and artifacts of his history in farming."

The idea of making his ceramics look expensive relates to the philosophy of Pete Pinnel and his analysis of how cups used in different situations give a different image to "the viewer." The example he used in his Thoughts on Cups videos was how putting a high end brand of coffee in a old boring coffee cup wouldn't show value to the prestigious cup of coffee. The same reasoning is shown in Patrick Coughlin's work; the use of rich and colors mixed with the clever placement makes the cups seem expensive.

These are a few images of his work.

Another interesting concept he uses is imagery of personal or iconic photos. The way he glazes his cups gives them a vintage yet expensive feel, where the colors are always complimenting. They almost look Victorian. An example of this is in the John Wayne and Black Velvet Cups.

Overall I enjoy his style and would definitely decorate my house with it. His creations are beautiful and tasteful.

Sources:

http://patrickcoughlin.com/

http://www.artaxis.org/index.html

Cups and Handles by Mariana Miller

A cup is an interesting piece of art that can be visually appreciated as well as used for its functionality. When a cup is thrown the artist can make it to sit on a gallery pedestal or to specifically be purchased for a functional cup. Cups have the combined aspects of aesthetics as well as function (Charlie Cummings). Because of this, an artist must think about how he/she wants their cup to feel in a person’s hands and how the handle corresponds with the chosen feel.

Malcolm Mobutu Smith makes his cups with the intent of conveying a statement or thought. The forms of his cup bodies tend to be bold in shape as well as in color. As pieces of art, the cups are stunning, but when they are considered for use, the handles are what make the use of the cup difficult.

His handles tend to not be attached to the cup on both ends, so the drinker would have to have a constant hard grip on the handle in order to drink with it.

When a person is asked to think of what cup he/she generally drinks out of, he/she might think of something like a mug, especially if he/she drinks hot liquids. Linda Arbuckle has made a mug here that is very functional. The handle allows the holder’s grip to rest while still holding the cup. She also added visual aspects by painting on design with color. It appears to be a mug that would be used in a fruit themed set even though it stands on its own.

Sources:

"Semifjord Cloud Cup," Malcolm Mobutu Smith. http://accessceramics.org/results/object/2/

" Cup: Fruited Fall," Linda Arbuckle. http://accessceramics.org/results/object/2/

Journal #1; Cups and Handles; Louise Shye

Cups and Handles

Betsy Williams:

With Betsy Williams work, her cups distinguish a unique style of cup. Ceramic cups have handles, at least that is what this Blog is about, however with her cups, and the visual over rides the usefulness. The cups are designed to visually appeal the audience, convincing them that handling these cups will damage its value. This is what I see. She uses rims, which also gives the cups more of a fragile look to them. When looking at these cups, I don’t want to touch them, pour anything in them; they are too fragile, unique, and gorgeous.

Emily Schroeder:

Emily Schroeder’s cups have an interesting texture to them. I could not imagine holding my lips to something that is not smooth. It reminds me of the video we watched the first day of class, where a cup was not ideally a good drinking cup; however the texture made it to where the drink was already gone without tasting it. The cups are something I do not see myself drinking out of due to the texture continuing onto the rim and handle. If there was a texture on the body of the cup more so than the rim and handle, I can see people drinking out of those rather than Emily Schroeder’s work. From what I see, her work reminds me of something on cloud nine. They don’t seem very comfortable to many people, especially the handles on the second image.

Citations:

Anderson, Zoe, and Michael Lindsey. Watzek Library, "accessCeramics a contemporary ceramics image resource." Accessed September 25, 2011. http://www.accessceramics.org.

Some good resource sites!

http://formalconcernsandcontent.blogspot.com/

http://stiffyguss.blogspot.com/

http://liquidceramics.blogspot.com/

http://teapotspitchers.blogspot.com/

http://woodkilns.blogspot.com/

http://jomonhaniwa.blogspot.com/

http://stephensrobison.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gusstiffpottery/sets/

http://accessceramics.org/ 

 http://artaxis.org/artist.htm.