A Square Teapot

Today I'm going to make another square teapot. It's sorta become my signature piece. I've made and sold several. They're a real bear to make, but I love to do them.

All the slabs that make up the piece must come from the same bag of clay. That way I hedge my bets on compatibility in joining and shrinkage. All the pieces must be assembled in one go. It just won't work to put part of the pot together even in two component parts and hope the whole thing will work.

The slabs must be the right wet/dry condition to join and manipulate the form. As soon as possible, the handle must be fabricated and attached, but it is thinner, so that part of the operation has to be orchestrated after the base of the pot is done.

I've invented a way to attach the handle which is my trade secret. So don't ask. (insert smile here).

At any time during the process, the pot can develop a crack, the handle can get temperamental or any one of a good number of things can make the whole thing go south.

Glazing is the same story. Just holding this pot during glazing is a real pain.

...............why do I go through all this? 'Cause I love how they come out. And I love to experiment with variations in handles, feet, height and width of the pot and lids. Every one has a personality of it's own.

Two variations are in 500 Teapots.

P.S. The last one I made, I didn't measure the shorty kiln I have and had to take the feet off in order to get it in the kiln.