Vocabulary: (other vocabulary may be integrated in other posts)
- To make the main body of the teapot, I started off with using hard slabs (slabs of clay that are leather hard - some moisture evaporated) and soft slabs (slabs of clay that are easily bent, flexible). I made donuts out of hard slabs. The surrounding clay to connect it to make it one large donut were made up of soft slabs.
- I used a paddle and my hands to squish and get my teapot to the shape I wanted it to.
- I also used two small hard slabs to make a T-shape for the lid. Then, I used a portion of a coil (rolled out snake-like piece of clay) to make the top of the lid.
- I used a coil to make the spout, and then I cut it in half and scraped the inside away with a ribbon tool to make an opening for the water to come out of a teapot. Then, I used the applicay technique to make the spout thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top. I used a needle tool and scored and slipped (marking the clay and putting watered down clay) it to the pot.
- Next, I rolled out coils and to make the handle. I had a longer coil for the main part of the handle, and I had shorter coils to support the main part of the handle. I used the blowdryer to make the coils leather hard, and then I scored and slipped them all together.
- I used a sponge to smooth it out and made "feet" for the donut teapot so that it can stand up better.
- Lastly, I fired it in the kiln, where it went from greenware to bisqueware.
- After firing it in the kiln, I used a white underglaze for the body and used regular glazes for the spout, handle, and feet.
- Then, I put clear glaze over the white underglaze
- I also glazed on lines and swirls onto the body to make it less plain
Reflection
I liked the outcome of my teapot. This is one of the few projects that I actually find decent. (But I predict I'm going to make it worse with the glaze) Anyways, I really liked the donut shape and thought it was pretty creative, so I decided to make it. However, as I was trying to make my wheel look more like a donut, it didn't really work. The insides began to fall and collapse in because of the lack of support inside. I tried to fix it, but it didn't work, so I made that indented part part of my design. I indented that part even more to make it look more intentional and less like a mistake. Who knew that your mistakes can be part of your design. I had trouble thinking for ideas for my handle. I wanted to integrate a chain as part of my handle, but it didn't work out that well. So, I stuck with something simple and made a simple but decent handle out of coils. Also, originally, my spout was a really simple thin one, so I added clay to emphasize it a little more. I was afraid that after it was fired, the part that I applied on will break off, but thankfully it stayed on. I put a good amount of slip and spread the clay like butter all over the place. I wanted to integrate the chains I made somewhere in my project, but I couldn't find a good place for it, so I fired it separately.
Next time, if I were to make a teapot again, I would plan a bit better so that I don't have to waste as much time thinking about what I should do. Also, I should try to provide better support with clay to the insides of the teapot. I did my best, but there were some parts I could not reach that lacked sufficient support. Also, I would make the feet of the teapot better, because it looks like two fat pieces of clay that randomly got stuck on. Overall, I'm pretty glad my teapot turned out okay.
