Surprisingly enough why this seemingly fragile material is so widely used to make tableware, teapots or ceramic coffee mugs, in dentists' practices and even in High Tech.

The first thing that is very important to mention is that ceramics is created according to a great lot of forming techniques and thus can  be of different shape and apparently strength. The most commonly used technique for producing commercial tableware is called slip casting. Slip here is the special liquid clay that is poured into a plaster of Paris mold. Then follows another specific process during which the water is sucked out until it becomes thick and solid enough. However, the slip should be not only thick but also flexible in order to shape it later. The manufacturers liquefy it using a special substance that reduces the amount of dried water in the slip and softens it at the same time. By the way, this is a very important step because of the excessive water the tableware will have a great lot of small cracks when you use it. That is the reason why expensive ceramic coffee mugs produced by famous brands, for example Starbucks coffee mugs, are usually much more durable and reliable than the cheaper ones.

And what about the famous Potter's Wheel, you might ask. It is only after the mixture described above is ready it is thrown on a potter's wheel. ("Throwing" means making a clay object, such as a bowl, using a potter's wheel - Longman dictionary of contemporary English). This wheel allows making symmetrical adjustments to the piece of pottery easily and because of its simplicity in use and reliability it hasn't become out of date so far. So an article of tableware comes out of balanced, almost perfect shape.

The process of throwing includes three or sometimes four steps:

     1. The first step for the master is to centre the necessary amount of clay on the wheel (unfortunately, no funny and beautiful ceramic coffee mugs can appear if the clay is not properly centred for it can lose this position any moment)
     2. The second step is that this centre must be opened
     3. The third step is to squeeze gently the walls of the forming pot in order to help the clay go upwards and thus making it taller but thinner
     4. The final step (it is sometimes omitted when simple objects are produced, but it doesn't concern ceramic coffee mugs) is help the clay reach the desired shape. It is usually done by light and tender pushing the clay in the necessary direction
After it the almost ready pot is removed from the potter's wheel by cutting it off with a kind or special wire.

After your future ceramic coffee mug is properly burnt, glazed and polished it's the designers' turn to create an image, simple or sophisticated, but all the same original and appealing. Or even it can remain blank in order to let you use your imagination and create your dream picture for your favourite ceramic coffee mug and have the picture printed on it. It is true for all the mugs that they keep the enigma of their creation and they manage to hold this secret with pride.