Completed Pieces...glazed and fired

Glazed pieces

Some of my glazed pieces: teapot set, second slab piece, and double pinch piece

Glazing Time!

Mixing the glaze before using it

Applying glaze by dipping the piece

 Before and After: Before glazing the fired piece, make sure to clean it first by wiping the piece with a wet sponge. After applying glaze, make sure to clean the foot (or the bottom/base) of the piece.

"My Lil Teapot"

When I created my little teapot, I combined different methods and techniques I learned during the course period. The body of my teapot was created using the double pinch method. For the spout, I had to use a dowel as a mold by wrapping the clay around it, creating a tube piece. The handle was slab pieces put together and cut to a rectangular shape. And the cover which was cut-out from the body.

We are required to create 4 identical teacups that will go with the teapot. The above photo of the teapot set was taken after it was fired already.

10" Coil and Slab Challenge

Second Coil Construction

Second Slab Construction

 My instructor challenged me to construct 10" coil and slab pieces.

First Slab Construction

I started my slab piece by pressing the clay using a slab roller. I made the clay a bit rounder because I want it to come out a long slab rather than wide. I picked up some leaves for decoration, then cut the pieces using the template I made.

I had to let the cut-out pieces sit for a day to hardened a little bit before putting them together. I had to score the bevelled edges, deep enough that the slip will soak and moisten
the hardened clay. Then I placed the joined pieces on top of another slab, which would be the base.

Working on my first coil construction...

In the process of making my first coil construction....

First Coil Construction

I began my coil construction by throwing in a slanting way some clay (but guiding the clay while throwing on the table) to use as my base. I used a round object, a masking tape, to cut a round shape. I decided to go with the traditional way of making coils using just your hand, rolling the clay to make coils (above right photo) because I want to be able to control the thickness of the coils, and I was thinking of making different sizes and shapes for my piece.

To get the coils to stick to the base and to each other, it is important to score the clay and use slip. I decided to make my coil piece shaped like a drinking cup with a snake. My piece
reminded me of the movie “Indiana Jones” where he had to choose the cup that Jesus used,
the “carpenter’s cup”. I remember lots of snakes in the movie, so I decided to incorporate it as decoration.