Great Teapots

Going through some old files on my computer, I ran across these teapots made by various artists.

I love to look at these and, fortunately, the creators' names were included in this resource.

Enjoy!

Clary Illian

 D'Angel-Wing

 Ester Ikeda

 Fong Choo

 Linda Bloomfield

 Lloyd Hamovit

 Margaret Patterson

 Matt Wilt

 Mathew Hansche

A Jar with a Perfectly Fitting Lid

This jar is made on the wheel; thrown as one piece, a hollow form.

After the bottom and diameter are established, the walls are brought up and closed at the top.

This one has a top-knot, but you can make it rounded or add anything you wish after it becomes leather hard.

The walls are purposely thrown a little thicker than usual in order to accommodate the cut for the interlocking lid flange and the base lip. It's also good to make the jar a bit taller, since the lid cutting operation will take some height out of the middle.

This glaze is done with a splotch of green glaze on the bisqued piece, the application of wax resist over that, then the top and base are dipped in a contrasting glaze.

No matter how well matched the lid and base are, there is always the 'perfect seat' of fit. Making a decoration travel from lid to base helps to make sure the lid is returned to this optimum fit.

Below is a diagram I developed to illustrate the technique for cutting lids from closed forms. 

If you click on the image, you can enlarge it for easier reading. With some computers, you can click the curser on the image, hold and drag the image to the desktop, then import it into a document for reference.

If you cut the lid flange at the base of the indentation, it is possible to remove the completed lid and inner flange. Just a bit of smoothing up is needed.

The base, still attached and centered on the batt, can be trimmed on the inside to create a 'shelf' for the lid flange to rest upon.

Unfortunately, I don't have any examples to photograph of the jars I've made using this approach, I've sold them all except for this green one.

It is possible to reverse the cut--make it so that the lid slips down over the bottom flange--by cutting at the top of the indentation to release the lid, then inverting the lid into the base and after securing it, cutting the inner edge, leaving the outer surface undisturbed.

The outer edge of the base may need some cutting adjustment on the inner lip so that the lid slips easily over. This is an example of an early try at the reverse cut.

Once you get the hang of the cutting and a feel for the thicknesses, either way is fine, but I prefer the first method because in my experience, it gives a truer fit.

Woo Hoo

Just got notified I was accepted into the 38th Annual "Toys Designed by Artists" at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock! See "Where You Can See My Work" section at the right for details.

This is the third or fourth time I've been selected for this show, always with ray guns.

The rings at the back are really disposable snap-together plastic party wine glass bottoms. The kind you buy in bulk for big parties.

I was cleaning out a basement wine and storage area when I saw these bases on a shelf. Bingo! There was the part I've been looking for to complete this ray gun. It has been sitting in parts on a table in my studio for some time.

The piece is really was made in four parts. Two separate sections of the main body were thrown on the wheel as was the back section. The grip was hand formed and is hollow.

When it was in the leather hard state (soft-ish), I carved and fitted the grip to the body assuring that it would balance. I always wanted to put this ray gun together with another, added component, but just couldn't find anything that worked until I saw those disposable wine bases.

Now, I'm on the look-out for anything glass or plastic that might have possibilities. Even considering snapping the base off a glass wine glass and using the top like the one in the September 5th post. The plastic top to the disposable glass didn't work out as well as the bases did. The Goop glue tended to cloud the glass. I'm sure a glass top would work much better.


Uh oh, I hear the siren hoarding call.  Every time I watch that program, I go clean out a drawer or something.

Bottles

This grouping of bottles are from a few years ago....They are a little bottom heavy, but in the case of making bottles, that's not a bad thing.

I was experimenting with corks and came up with an idea to cap a wine cork by glueing a top onto the cork after it was fired. Getting the measurements just right is a bit of a hassle, but the cork is secure and fits. I used Goop to attach it to the top.

I really like the way the celadon pooled over the white glaze in the short pot.

I made applied 'buttons' as decorations. The button is actually patterned with a real antique button mold. I made the mold with clay, fired it, then pressed the soft clay button into the bisque mold to reproduce the original button form. You could do this with many different kinds of molds to make all kinds of button decorations on your pots.

The small piece only has a sort of spike shaft at the bottom of the cap. It rattles around right now, but I will find the right cork and hollow it out to fit the shaft.

I like the balance of this tall bottle. Great for single branches and tall flowers. Ridges and finger rings add interest to the shape. There's a lot of exploring to do just in where the rings are placed on the form.

This smaller "buttoned" vase goes with the larger corked one. I believe I made it first, then made it's 'sister'.

Click below for a larger image

Why is it? (Fits and Starts)

Why is it that at some times, you can waltz out to your studio, wire off an 8 lb. chunk of clay, sit down and throw a 14 inch platter with no trouble at all?

And other times, you can't get anything to work.

Or worse yet, can't think of anything you want to make.

Or you can look at a piece of greenware and see several versions of glaze application and yet, at other times, you let the piece sit on the shelf gathering dust and can't think of a single way to decorate it?

Lately, I've been zipping off platters like there's no tomorrow and last night, just before going to sleep, I came up with several variations for underglaze.