Need some help making teapots.

[futurebird]

I want to make this or something as close as possible:




I bought some yixing clay watch as many videos as I could find and did my best:











Well, I'm not that sad, really I know this will take a lot of practice. These are slab-built pots. I'm working at home will take them to a local kiln to fire hopefully they won't crack...

What should I shoot for on my next few pots?

How can I make them smoother, more precise, and less goofy?



Thanks!

[futurebird]

todays teapot 97 morre to go.

[futurebird]

I made a cup last night





I'll post another image after I burnish it.

[futurebird]

This is after burnishing it.


I think I will fire this one.

[saje]

I question if this piece was even hand thrown? my off the wall guess is it was template thrown from a powered wheel. the spout and handle were attached later. it may even be (horror) mold made. do you have any other information??

+

[futurebird]

Originally Posted by saje

I question if this piece was even hand thrown? my off the wall guess is it was template thrown from a powered wheel. the spout and handle were attached later. it may even be (horror) mold made. do you have any other information??

+

That piece was built from slabs by hand. That's what's so amazing about these pots. No wheel, no slip-casting... but perfection.

But it is likely that templates were used to cut the slabs... they call it "half hand made"

Here is my eforrt for the day:



I feel*like they are getting better, but they still have that lumpy hand-made look. Any tips on ways to fix this?

[futurebird]

for what it is worth I don't think it is possible to throw this kind of clay. It's quite hard and crumbly. Not very plastic, yet it dries hard as rock-- my air dried pieces feel like they been fired already-- I like this clay but it is difficult.

Here's another image:

[The.Renaissance.Man]

Hi,

I see what your problem might be, with clay that some what works like porcelain (Im guessing it has the texture of that when drying) making something of that construction will be a pain... or at least, to get it to a perfection statis. I would suggest you make a ball of paper (or even a form of soft spounge) to create an armature for the teapot. This will hold it stable till it is dry and give you more of an ability to work with the piece longer and be slight more "rough" with the pot, so that you might achive the perfection you are looking for. Be warned this method might have the clay cracking if it shrinks to much, hense the idea of a soft foam pading/ball which should allow it to shrink so no cracking will happen.

BK

[futurebird]

Hmmm it's not quite like porcelain... I just think I'm inexperienced working with the water... I just got a new too buffalo horn... and OMG now it's so much easier!

take a look:

Here are some more photos after a lot of carving on the spout.




I'm feeling betting about this one, I did make it a bit larger. I'd guess it's 90-120ml





still have a lot of work to do on the base.



not a perfect circle.



reality check. such a long way to go!



it is very difficult to tap the cylinder shape in to the nicer rounded shape of the master pot shown with my latest effort.



I'm going to keep working on better symmetry and making it "flatter" --

also I did not plan well for the lid. Maybe I can add a lip. Ideas?

Just gott a batch of new clay!!!

[futurebird]

I just got a new video in the mail and it's been very helpful. Can't wait to try some of the new stuff out on the next pot.

Today, I had a long day at work (proofs not working out...ugh, and I sort of hate working with differentials) - I was excited to get home and work on the base of my teapot!:



Which I completed. The video I got in the mail has all kinds of obvious (but not obvious) things like: don't use slip to seal up something you're just going to carve off later well DUH! The next time I make a base I'll get that right.

Also, making and empty hollow "clay pod" is *essential.* It's what helps keep it round! I think that's (one) of my problems. I'm intimidated by the process. Butt now that I've seen 3 people do it in videos I think I can try.

Here is what I did with the top, I was able to add a lip:



but it came at a price:



Now, the handle is too low! And the spout is at the wrong angle (not flush with the body... would not pour smooth)

I want to add, that though I didn't photograph them my spout holes were really nice. In fact, I will take a photo before I recycle it, just to compare to later.

So between all these flaws I decided not to suffer making a lid for a not-round pot. I'll start a new one. For now, it get to sit on the shelf for a awhile before it gets recycled.

[futurebird]

This time I did all of the steps that the "masters" do in my own awkward way and I'm just filled with joy with the result. I still need to burnish it and do more work on the base... but it looks like a teapot which is more than I can say for my first effort:



OY VEH

let's move on!



My arm got tired from smacking this mofo.



This time I didn't glue the base all the way on, just on the edges. So, I can carve it out later like and intelligent person would.



This is the scary moment when you make it an "egg of clay" and you have no idea what's going on inside ...



The sealed egg... then it's time for more furious tapping. The masters must have big strong arms and very obedient children.



tryinging to get it all in a row.



One big issue is it gets roughed up as one works. I need to do a better job keeping in smooth, clean hands... don't rush...



getting ready to cut out the lid.



Not quite. The masters get it on the first try.



almost perfect...



yeah!

So, issues... yeah, this teapot has some. I'm going to dissect them latter when I go back to burnish it. (I'm exhausted this took 4 hours)

For now, I'm just happy that I did all of the steps.

I think I'll watch the video again just in case I missed something.

[futurebird]

might just fire this one. Though, it has a few issues, it's a little... lopped-sided if you look at in in the right way.

I just did the burnishing:



Still a long way to go, but progress feels good.

[futurebird]

Today's pot was not as good:



I'm better off working larger.

[futurebird]

I found these pots on ebay today and I'm rather pleased to see they have some of the same erors that I make...



Making my own teapots has made me much more judgmental!

[futurebird]

I've made TWO since ops: But, each had some ... lets say... issues. I'll show this one:



Ugh... it's just too rough, and fugly. I think the problems is that I got a little ahead of myself and tried to work much too small too soon. I need to keep working at a larger sizes for now. Since my goal is to make *my personal* ideal teapot -- it's hard not to just focus on what I want. But, I need to remember that the teapot I will keep is not even born yet... it's not even an idea yet.



That said, I've come up with a new way of making handles. Making handles is HARD, since this clay isn't plastic and will crack when bent. I'm having some good luck sculpting the handles from slabs:



This show some bits in my "damp box" I'm trying to make a lot of pieces at once then just assemble them later. That way it is not required to make everything on the spot.



I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a try.

This little workspace is my happy place!



Though, my husband complains about the pounding some of the time. ops:

Can't wait to post the next (passable) pot. The encouragement really helps too. Some days nothing works. But, that's just part of learning. I have become very critical of the work of others:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-Nice-Chi...item232a5c14c2

I found these on ebay, and started listing the flaws as soon as I saw them. But, it made me feel better to see that others have struggled with the same things that I do... (lumpy spout, crooked handles, etc.) albiet they struggle much less... ops:


I think I'll try to copy this teapot next:

its looks simple (deceptively simple :twisted: ) and yet I think I understand how to make it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-Small-Chin...item4ac3fc5b34

(FYI I have no idea if this ebay auction is a good price or even that great of a pot, I'm just using it for a visual reference, not saying it's worth bidding on!)


Back to the drawing board!