02/06/2026
A little pottery hack for you….
Most potters probably won’t talk about this, perhaps because many don’t do it, but l’ve always struggled with pulled handles cracking where they join the mug body as they dry. Even when I think I’m drying things slowly enough, a tiny crack appears as if by magic.
What works for me is painting a thin, watered-down coat of wax resist around the joins and the handle. It just helps slow the handles down slightly so they dry more evenly with the body of the mug.
I’d say it works around 95% of the time. The remaining 5% usually reveal themselves after a glaze firing and end up in my kitchen cupboard instead. Not the worst outcome I suppose, although my growing collection of seconds mugs is a constant reminder that patience is usually the answer.
The brush I’m using here belonged to my Gramps. He was an artist working in oils, acrylics and pastels, as well as a woodturner and poet. A few of his brushes and paintings made their way to Cornwall with me, and this particular brush seems to have found a second life in the pottery studio, making me think about him when I’m working.
So, fingers crossed for this batch of mugs. They’re now drying as slowly as possible, ready for the kiln later this week. After last week’s glorious weather, we are back to no sun, no warmth and plenty of rain for a few days. So will probably take forever now to dry…..
For those wondering about the soundtrack, rules and regulations came to mind with my brain wandering back to the 1980s when me and my friends used to head up to Camden Palais to see a band and lucky enough to see the fab all girl punk goth band Fuzzbox-back when they were still called “We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It”. Happy days.
