Friday, June 21, 2013

Almost Perfect

Sometimes you get pretty close.

Sometimes something you've planned and worked hard on comes out exactly the way you want.

But not always.

This is one of *those* times.


I made this little teapot as the final project of last semester's ceramics class. I wanted a teapot that was about 25% larger than the beehive one I used as my everyday teapot because it was just a little smaller than two normal (Lisa sized) tea mugs.  There are a ton of things I absolutely love about this pot.  
  • It's the right size
  • It's a happy shape
  • It has a little 'hat' for a lid
  • The lid fits precisely
  • The glaze looks like little fish scales
See how nice the shape is? I've worked hard, practicing on the wheel for over 5 years to be able to do something like this. It's also well balanced in the hand and not too heavy. For this teapot, I was able to throw the spout and the cover, which were both new skills for me.


 So what's the problem?

Um. Well. You see. . . The holes inside got sealed in by the glaze.

So I have this utterly lovely, perfect, and perfectly unusable teapot.

We're still getting used to the way these new glazes flow and although I blew in the holes after I glazed the teapot, it still flowed into the holes.

Ahh well. I'm still pleased in what I was able to do and the next time I sit down at the wheel, I can recreate this teapot. Only this time, with much bigger pour holes.





2 comments:

  1. That's a bummer, but it still looks really nifty. Perhaps you can re-purpose it? Maybe a vase? Or somewhere in the garden?

    That took obvious skill. Kinda' jealous...

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  2. Oh no! Any chance you can drill the holes? (and because I'm that way, I did a quick search and folks who've had the same problem used a diamond bit on a dremel to gently remove the offending glaze. Also? apparently you can put a wooden toothpick in the holes before firing and the wood will burn off while preventing glaze from running into the holes)

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