Day 5: Tuesday Tutorial -Starry Night TARDIS Mug

Today's project is a paint-it-yourself ceramic mug that I worked on between September 2015 and May 2016 at the Wolfville Clayground. It was fired after my move so a friend picked it up and held on to it till I could visit.

The Clayground is fantastic. You go in pick out the project you want to work. You buy it up front, the prices are on the unpainted ceramics. The cost includes the piece, all the paints you use even if it takes multiple visits to finish, and the firing process. I found it a way to paint without having to buy all the supplies or clean up. It was also enjoyable having something practical I could use or give as a gift.

Supplies:
A Paint-Your-Own Ceramic Studio
Reference Material

Step 1:
Research if there is a paint your own ceramics studio in your area. I was fortunate to have discovered the Clayground years before this project. Hopefully there is one in your area. I know for Ottawa people there is Colour Me Mine at the Bayshore. I only have experience at the Clayground. They have storage space for large projects that took multiple painting sessions. Other stores might have different policies.

Step 2:
Choose your project. There are so many options available at these studios, plates, tea pots, mugs, figures, piggy banks, jewelry boxes, and more. The best advice I was given was, "choose something practical that you could actually use." After almost a dozen project, I completely agree.

Step 3:
With the aid of your reference choose your paints. Having a plan isn't necessary. My friend who I would paint with would come up with these vibrant colourful designs of pots or stripes. Her pieces were always cheerful and beautiful.  I would often just stare at the white ceramic hoping for inspiration.

Having an idea and reference material can be useful. I knew going in that I wanted to recreate the TARDIS in the Starry Night. I wasted no time at the shop considering my creative options, and it made choosing the paints easier.

Step 4:
Paint. Listen to the workers. I would imagine the process is similar but maybe not. The Clayground paints needed three coats and to be completely dried between each coat or the paint would bubble or crack in the kiln. We used hairdryers.

 

I used a basecoat of blue before penciling in the design.

 

Next I worked on the stars and moon. I found using dots and dashes helped me to recreated Van Gogh's style (somewhat).

 

I think the hardest part is guessing if the colours are going to work. There were sample tiles of each colour glazed and fired but it wasn't always clear if I was making the right choice.

Step 5:
Eventually you will be finished painting. Then you give the piece to the shop to be dipped in glaze and fired. At this point it is waiting for the studio to call you and let you know your piece is ready.

Don't forget to sign and date the bottom (I did).

Step 6:
Enjoy the finished project.

 

Try not to be too critical. I love how it turned out but there are small things that bother me. The background is darker than I expected. If I did it again I would choose a lighter blue to build on. Related to that the town and especially the church were made from similar colours and seem to disappear in the painting. All that aside, I really enjoyed the process and now I have a Doctor Who travel mug.

Let me know any creations you've made, either in the comments or over at Whovian Christmas Special Countdown facebook group. 

The BBC's official  Doctor Who 2017 Adventure Calendar
Countdown Till Christmas Special Airs: 20 sleeps
Countdown Till This Whovian (probably) sees the Christmas Special: 22 sleeps
Yesterday's Countdown Post: Day 4: Gift Guide for a Whovian
Episodes Watched: ...none today