Project 3: Another Kyusu Teapot

This time I am going at it on my own. Of course I asked for advice when needed, but it's all me!

Teapot body and lids

This one is not as round as the one my instructor helped me with but it is a good start.  I forgot pictures of the spouts and handles again, but maybe I will remember next time. 

Lid finished and teapot assembled.

Now it's time for it to dry, so it can be dipped in slip...

This time I decided I wanted to make some matching cups as well. I threw these cups on the wheel and then squared off the top for a different look and feel.

I decided to decorate them both by applying slip and carving into the clay. I took pictures of them during the process to show the difference.The cups were dipped in slip and decorated while the teapot was drying.

Cups.

I dipped these about 1/2 way as they are small and I wanted to be able to see the pattern and texture.

First cup finished.

Cups bisque fired
 and waiting for the teapot to dry.

I really love the way the carving turned out!

Teapot dipped in slip.

I decided to only dip 1/3 of the teapot and a ring on the lid. I like the contrast of the earthy rough texture of the slip with carved details and the smoothness of the glaze.

Next the carving... 
I chose to carve the clay with a matching pattern into both the clay dipped in slip and the plain clay, because I am using a glaze that has beautiful variation according to thickness.  I am so excited and can't wait to see how the glaze comes out.

Carved teapot.

I really like how it looks so far.

Teapot and cups dipped in glaze
and ready for the final firing.

 Now the wait....

Finished teapot and cups!!

Again I am extremely happy with the results! 

These cups turned out to be excellent for drinking. They fit perfectly in your hand and the texture is nice with a smooth lip.

Things I learned:

1. The glaze was thin at the back of the teapot so the glaze was not utilized to it's full potential as when it is thin it does not show of the carving. You can see in the above picture between the spout and handle beautiful deep blue lines. That is what i wanted. On the back the carvings are more yellow like the end of the handle and spout. It's still lovely but next I will be more careful.

2. The other is again that this spout shape is not the best for pouring tea. It is functional but it drips a bit. I will work on that in the next teapots to come until I figure it out.