The famous* swimming mug started because I wanted to make an effort for my first ever stall at the Wild Women Christmas market in 2022. I thought it would be fun to do something that reflected me – I love swimming outdoors – and also that reflected the Wild Women group. I wanted to show that I cared about coming to their market! So I did a small batch of about 10 mugs with little swimmers – and thankfully they proved popular.
The design has evolved a little since 2022, but the basic concept remains the same. Once in the water, all you can see of a wild swimmer is her hat and her tow float. There is a body, but I just carve the legs and arms in, so that my swimmer’s limbs merge into the water as the blue glaze fills the lines.
I also do a wetsuit version on request for those of us who, like me, appreciate the insulation of neoprene!
* Slight exaggeration, but they (and me) have been featured in Outdoor Swimmer magazine!
(For my other mugs, please check out my homeware pages.)
Making a swimming mug
The process of making a swimming mug is surprisingly time consuming – after painting on the key elements (hat, tow float and swimsuit or wetsuit), it is necessary to cover the swimmer in clear glaze and then wax resist before dipping in the white glaze for the interior of the mug and the ‘sky’ and a blue glaze for the ‘lake’. To be fully effective, the underglaze needs three costs, so each mug gets picked up nine times before I even start glazing. There’s a reason I do these in small batches!!
