Alexis Yildir on wed 15 aug 01
Dear Gail,
One of my first potting efforts was a mug without a handle - it was made
by rolling a slab very thinly and wrapping it around a cardboard cylinder
then adding a base. The glaze misbehaved in a way that was really beautiful.
I used that mug every day for the next two years. I used it for water, tea
and coffee. I loved cradling it in my hands in cold weather. Then one day it
slipped through my fingers and I have had to grip my mugs despite their
awkward handles until recently I came across a beautiful mug without
attachment by Kathy Koop. I now have something to fondle.
By the way, I have spent a fair amount of time in Turkey where, like
your grandmother, they serve tea only in glass. This, as far as I can
understand, is because the colour is an important indicator of what to
expect and therefore something to enjoy. Good tea has the colour of rabbit
blood and is obtained by judicious mixing of the steeped tea and the hot
water (theoretically, you can have any degree of strength but in fact, most
people think you are addlebrained to desire anything other than good old
rabbit's blood). The glass is usually served on a little metal or
occasionally glass saucer. It should also be noted that the shape of the
glass usually allows one to pick it up by the rim when it is at its hottest
(thus sparing the fingers for other uses.) My husband, who is Turkish, still
likes to drink his tea in glass although he has no preferences about the
presence or absence of handles. In Turkey, I enjoy a morning tea in a tall
glass but I very much dislike coffee in glass so no latte for me, thanks.
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
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David Hendley on wed 15 aug 01
Ykes, Gail, I bet you didn't try to drink any hot tea from your
grandmother's glass when you were a child.
I vividly remember ordering tea in Poland 25 years ago. It arrived
in a drinking glass!
It was like iced tea at the cafeteria, except they forgot to make
it iced.
I couldn't pick the danged thing up, even with fingertips numbed
by years of unloading too-hot pots from cooling kilns.
I don't know if these folks liked drinking hot tea from a water
glass, or if there were just no ceramic mugs or cups available. In
those days, there were obscene shortages of just about everything
needed for daily life.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gayle Bair"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 2:20 AM
Subject: Re: Handles
> I love this list!
> I was born in the USA but have an issue with mug handles.
> I do not like them. I rarely see a mug with a handle that fits or is
> aesthetic.
> IMHO a handle is an affront to symmetry, wastes space in a shelf, demands
> extra care when washing and limits the area of rim from where I can
> comfortably drink.
> Now all that said after reading Mariko's posting I vividly recalled
watching
> my beloved Ukrainian grandmother drink her hot tea from a
glass....bingo...
> no handle! She would sweeten it with a dollop of jelly. I always finished
> her tea reaping the reward at the bottom of the glass.
> Such fond memories. No mug handles for me, don't like them...don't need
> them!
> I sell my handle free tumblers (formerly called tea bowls) instead of
mugs.
>
> Just for the record I am not handle phobic. All my teapots have handles.
>
> Thanks Mariko for jogging such a fine image from my memory.
>
> Gayle Bair
> Bainbridge Island, WA
> --------------------------------------------------------
> http://claybair.com
>
DEBBYGrant@AOL.COM on wed 15 aug 01
David,
My husband always drinks tea from a glass. He got this from the Russian
side of the family. We also have a thing called a Zarf which is a metal
holder with a handle which you can put the glass in but he doesn't bother
to use it. He usually drops in an ice cube which cools the glass just
enough to hold it at the top and of course he never puts milk in his tea.
Debby Grant in NH
Gayle Bair on wed 15 aug 01
Hi David,
My mother has 2 beautiful silver handled pieces that obviously were made to
hold a tea glass. However I never saw my Ukrainian grandmother use one. She
drank hot tea from a glass. Now it was not a thin drinking glass it was a
bit thicker. She would always keep a spoon in it. I assumed it was to reach
the jelly but more likely a method to prevent the glass from breaking when
the hot water was poured into it.
Now my great uncle would drink hot water in a thin glass and sip it with a
cube of sugar or chocolate in his mouth. He would hold the rim with his
thumb and the bottom with his fingers. He was extremely frugal!
I do not recall seeing mugs at my grandparent's house crystal and china but
no mugs. Interesting!
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island WA
http://claybair.com
David wrote>>
--Ykes, Gail, I bet you didn't try to drink any hot tea from your
grandmother's glass when you were a child.
I vividly remember ordering tea in Poland 25 years ago. It arrived
in a drinking glass!
It was like iced tea at the cafeteria, except they forgot to make
it iced.
I couldn't pick the danged thing up, even with fingertips numbed
by years of unloading too-hot pots from cooling kilns.
I don't know if these folks liked drinking hot tea from a water
glass, or if there were just no ceramic mugs or cups available. In
those days, there were obscene shortages of just about everything
needed for daily life.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gayle Bair"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 2:20 AM
Subject: Re: Handles
> I love this list!
> I was born in the USA but have an issue with mug handles.
> I do not like them. I rarely see a mug with a handle that fits or is
> aesthetic.
> IMHO a handle is an affront to symmetry, wastes space in a shelf, demands
> extra care when washing and limits the area of rim from where I can
> comfortably drink.
> Now all that said after reading Mariko's posting I vividly recalled
watching
> my beloved Ukrainian grandmother drink her hot tea from a
glass....bingo...
> no handle! She would sweeten it with a dollop of jelly. I always finished
> her tea reaping the reward at the bottom of the glass.
> Such fond memories. No mug handles for me, don't like them...don't need
> them!
> I sell my handle free tumblers (formerly called tea bowls) instead of
mugs.
>
> Just for the record I am not handle phobic. All my teapots have handles.
>
> Thanks Mariko for jogging such a fine image from my memory.
>
> Gayle Bair
> Bainbridge Island, WA
> --------------------------------------------------------
> http://claybair.com
>
Wade Blocker on wed 15 aug 01
David,
Russians drink hot tea out of a glass too. Sometimes with a sugar cube
held between their teeth. Different folks, different habits. Mia in
unseasonably comfortable ABQ
Martin Howard on thu 16 aug 01
Having visited Poland for over 10 years, for a month each year, I am used to
the Polish lack of pottery.
There is very little good potting clay in Poland. There is plenty of glass
sand.
So the Poles have gone for glass, but usually they have metal stands for the
glasses, with metal handles. That does make drinking a little easier.
What pots I found there were generally rather sandy in nature.
They do buy quite a lot of real pottery from Czech Republic and especially
from Hungary. But these items are then put in the glass cabinets that
decorate Polish sitting rooms from floor to ceiling.
The mugs I took on visits were not used. Just put in the cabinets:-)
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
Jocelyn McAuley on thu 16 aug 01
Debby,
Zarf has become my word for the week. What a great term!
It makes me want to play Scrabble and Boggle.
--
Jocelyn McAuley ><<'> jocie@worlddomination.net
Eugene, Oregon
Janet Kaiser on thu 16 aug 01
Poland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Hungary... Indeed, the whole of Middle to
Eastern Europe as far as the Urals... they all prefer
to drink tea from glass, whether with or without
handles.
You should not burn your fingers if there is not a
handle... Unless it is broken or lost, there should be
a little holder (usually woven or pierced chrome metal
or silver) with a handle to pop the glass in. Those
Styrofoam cup holders have been copied from this
"original" design/idea... Anyway, when cool enough to
hold, the glass can then taken out and used as an
efficient hand warmer.
There are several reasons for glass in preference to
ceramics cups:
Firstly because they can see how strong (or weak) the
infusion is much better than in ceramic cups or mugs.
Because tea is usually taken black with a slice of
lemon, it is rather like drinking a wine... A major
part of the enjoyment is in seeing and appreciating the
colour and clarity.
Alongside honey, the irregular shaped, solid sugar
"Kandis" are also popular in the whole region... They
take a while to dissolve, so a glass bottom helps to
see whether they have or not.
And as black tea plus rum (often a wicked 90% Vol.
called Strohrum) known as Grog (especially around the
Baltic / North Sea coasts and in the Alps) is a fine
winter tradition after a day outdoors in the cold,
hence the glass... Like Irish Coffee, as soon as you
add alcohol to hot liquids, it is "traditionally"
served in glass and not ceramic containers. The glass
cups can also be used to serve Glühwein, the spiced,
mulled red wine of Christmas and winter, or the chilled
Bowle in summer.
Having only seen a Samovar in use once, I would also
hazard a guess that a tall deep shape is preferable to
a shallow wide tea cup...
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
Earl Brunner on fri 17 aug 01
I use the mugs in our house, I won't drink from a glass. But everyone
else uses glasses. I will even sometimes rather eat out of the mugs
than a bowl. If you can't even get people in your own house to use them....
My wife would even rather use a corningware bowl over one of mine. :(
Martin Howard wrote:
>
> The mugs I took on visits were not used. Just put in the cabinets:-)
>
> Martin Howard
> Webb's Cottage Pottery
> Woolpits Road, Great Saling
> BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
> England
>
> martin@webbscottage.co.uk
> http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec/
bruec@anv.net
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