Making Your Own Ceramic Teapot

Charan Sachar sculpts a sassy ceramic teapot.

All About

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Charan Sachar's sassy teapot is full of life and movement, inspired by his love for Bollywood (Indian cinema) movies.

Materials and Tools:

stoneware clay
stoneware glazes
wax resist
pottery wheel
wooden and rubber ribs
carving tools
needle tool
knife
kiln
paintbrushes
paper
black marker
sponge
water
slab roller
slip
texturing tool
container for glaze

Figure A

Steps:

1. Sketch the teapot shape on paper (figure A).

2. Weigh 3 to 4 pounds of clay and wedge it well to remove all the air pockets.

Figure B

3. Throw the ball of clay on the wheel and form the desired teapot shape. Squeeze the sides and push it up and down until the clay is centered (figure B). Open up the clay by pushing down on top with your thumbs. Then shape the teapot with your hands.

Figure C

4. Throw a spout (figure C) that will be attached later. Form one pound of clay into a slender cylinder shape piece.

5. Let the teapot and spout set for a day to dry.

Figure D

6. Flip the teapot over and shape it such that the bottom of the pot is the top lid. Draw a line all the way around the teapot–approximately 3/8 inch from the top (figure D). This is where you will be cutting the lid in step 10.

Figure E

7. Pinch the pot to give it a nice arched appearance (figure E). Push out from the inside to give the teapot a sassy voluptuous body. Let dry for 24 hrs.

8. Carve away excess clay and use rubber ribs to smooth the shape of the teapot.

Figure F

9. Roll out a slab of clay and attach it to the bottom of the teapot (figure F).

Figure G

10. Cut out the lid. Then make a flange by pinching a coil of clay around the inside of the lid that will fit inside the teapot to keep the lid in place (figure G).

Figure H

11. Position the spout and attach it to the pot so that it resembles the arm of a sassy teapot (figure H).

Figure I

12. Pull a handle from a ball of clay. Pull two pounds of clay up and down with your hands until you have the desired handle shape (figure I) and attach it such that it resembles an arm resting on the hip of the teapot.

Figure J

13. Attach a piece of clay to the lid and carve it with a wooden rib to make ridges in the top for lifting the lid off the teapot (figure J).

14. Let the teapot dry very slowly for a week and then bisque fire in the kiln to 1945-degrees F.

Figure K

15. After the sassy ceramic teapot is cool, apply wax resist to the bottom of the teapot. Glaze it by holding it with tongs and dipping it in a large container of glaze. Using a brush and a different color glaze, add a design to the sides of the teapot (figure K). Let it dry for 24 hours.

16. Fire the ceramic teapot again to 2185-degrees F and you are ready to have some tea.

Website: www.creativewithclay.com