The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
My path to finding a form I enjoy using and making usually begins with a dive into historical imagery and writings. Pulling something from established historical settings often gives the potter a great starting point to develop the form further and in their own voice. Objects like ewers, for example, have roots in many cultures, one being a broad stretch of Persian and Middle Eastern culture. The “aftabeh” in this case was primarily used for washing the face and hands. This elegant but intentional form creates a strong foundation to build from.
The most recent form I am applying this method of learning to is a kettle-shaped teapot. The kettles I am looking at are primarily Japanese cast-iron kettles (tetsubin) used for boiling water. The history of the tetsubin is relatively short (excluding similar cast-iron wares that preceded it), spanning roughly 1835 to the onset of World War II, when restrictions on the use of metal were imposed. These kettles became popular in Japan during the late Edo period when loose-leaf sencha tea was first exported from China.
Outside of pouring liquid, my teapots don’t exactly mirror the original design or intent of the tetsubin. While I want to preserve some of the original source material, pushing it into different directions is what draws me back to the studio and to the form. Whether it’s adjusting the size of a foot ring or handle, altering a pentagonal body, or changing spout angles, this kettle form offers endless exploration.
Creating the Body
My latest riff on the kettle has included a pentagonal body and a pronounced foot ring. This requires roughly three pounds (1.3 kg) of clay—more or less depending on the desired scale.
To achieve this, throw an open pentagonal form with a thick floor (1). This will allow you to add a coil-thrown shoulder and lid opening later, as well as carve out a tall five-sided foot ring. Because the teapot’s body is pentagonal, I throw the shoulder separately to preserve the pot’s geometric quality. This means that you will throw on a bat, alter your pot into a pentagon, and then remove the bat from the wheel. This will keep the body centered while it’s drying, making for an easy return to the wheel when it’s time to throw the shoulder.
Making the Shoulder and Lid Opening
After the body has had time to firm up to the leather-hard stage, score and slip a coil to the inside edge of the now-pentagonal rim. After blending the coil to the rim, pinch the coil inward. This helps to thin the coil out before throwing it. With a small amount of water, throw the coil until it is the same thickness as the lower portion of the body (2). Be sure to cut any excess clay off as you throw the coil (3). This creates a round lid opening while maintaining the geometric body.
After you’ve established and refined the opening, use a rib to set a gallery for the lid to rest on. Measure this opening with calipers or a ruler before setting the pot aside to firm up (4). Note: Access to the inside of a teapot is important to its functionality. If brewing loose-leaf tea, you want a wide opening to clean the leaves out after use. Admittedly, I have sacrificed some of that access in favor of a more aesthetically pleasing handle attachment point.
Since the lid opening is already small, I keep my lid gallery as narrow as possible. Usually around an ⅛ inch (3.2 mm) wide.
Lid, Spout, and Handle
Center several pounds of soft clay to throw the lids and spouts off the hump. This involves isolating a small amount of clay and throwing it at the top of a larger lump of clay.
Begin by isolating an amount of clay similar to the size of a lime. Your lid size may vary from mine, but a little goes a long way. I throw this style of lid right side up, the way you’ll see it on the finished pot.
Isolate a small amount of clay in the center of the mass for your finial, then throw the remaining outer edge of clay into a disc (5). Cut away excess lid circumference to match the measurement you took with your calipers (6).
For the spout, you will section off a similar amount of clay. I like a wide-based spout, so I open the floor to roughly three inches. The goal is to throw and collar the clay into a funnel shape. Once the spout is thrown, use a chopstick or the back end of a needle tool to throw the last inch or so of the spout. Address the termination of the spout by cutting it level, smoothing it, or refining it to help break the surface tension of the liquid being poured out. It will need to be relatively sharp to avoid dribbling.
To remove a spout or lid from the hump, I make a groove where I will cut it off and leave a thin ‘waster’ slab of clay below that (7). This allows for the part to be lifted off the hump without marring it. Note: It’s always a good idea to throw multiple lids and spouts. Not only will some fit better than others, but having options will also allow you to test the limits of what works with your form.
The handle starts as a clay coil. Pinch and roll the coil until it is slightly oval-shaped, and then taper the ends. This results in a handle that feels good in the hand and looks tailored to the pot.
Trimming
After the teapot body is leather hard, I paddle and Surform to refine the geometric shape further. The foot ring is then hand-trimmed to follow the five-sided profile (8). I like to use a pear-shaped trimming tool to scoop the clay out of the foot. The only other part that is trimmed is the underside of the lid.
Strainer and Assembly
I like to start the final assembly process with the spout and strainer. Before it can be attached, you have to decide what kind of strainer your teapot needs. I personally enjoy making bulb strainers—these are strainers built (9) and perforated on a round mandrel (10) and pressed into the opening where the spout will attach. This type of strainer will keep loose-leaf tea out of your cup.
After I’ve cut out the opening and installed the strainer (11), I will modify the spout and set it in place. By cutting some of the base away from the spout, you can adjust the angle at which it rests (12). This angle is crucial for pouring quality as well as keeping liquid from pouring out of the lid. A good rule of thumb is to keep the tip of the spout and lid opening level with each other (13).
Handle attachment is the last step (14). I like to snug up these attachment points as close to the lid opening as I can (15), creating a cinched look (16). This also offsets what would otherwise be a visually bottom-heavy form. Once everything is assembled, add a signature or chop mark to the foot (17).
Firing
These teapots are fired to cone 8–10 in a wood-burning train kiln that takes roughly 30 to 40 hours to fire, depending on cooling cycles. I fire most pieces, including these, with no glazes. Instead, I use mostly slips containing high amounts of iron. The iron-bearing clay and slips yield a wide range of surfaces that I feel accent my exploration of form and function nicely.
the author Josh Scott received his BFA from the University of North Florida in 2017 and went on to obtain an MFA in Ceramics from Utah State University in 2021. Currently, he lives and makes work in northeast Florida. To learn more, visit www.joshscottpottery.com.
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The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
My path to finding a form I enjoy using and making usually begins with a dive into historical imagery and writings. Pulling something from established historical settings often gives the potter a great starting point to develop the form further and in their own voice. Objects like ewers, for example, have roots in many cultures, one being a broad stretch of Persian and Middle Eastern culture. The “aftabeh” in this case was primarily used for washing the face and hands. This elegant but intentional form creates a strong foundation to build from.
The most recent form I am applying this method of learning to is a kettle-shaped teapot. The kettles I am looking at are primarily Japanese cast-iron kettles (tetsubin) used for boiling water. The history of the tetsubin is relatively short (excluding similar cast-iron wares that preceded it), spanning roughly 1835 to the onset of World War II, when restrictions on the use of metal were imposed. These kettles became popular in Japan during the late Edo period when loose-leaf sencha tea was first exported from China.
Outside of pouring liquid, my teapots don’t exactly mirror the original design or intent of the tetsubin. While I want to preserve some of the original source material, pushing it into different directions is what draws me back to the studio and to the form. Whether it’s adjusting the size of a foot ring or handle, altering a pentagonal body, or changing spout angles, this kettle form offers endless exploration.
Creating the Body
My latest riff on the kettle has included a pentagonal body and a pronounced foot ring. This requires roughly three pounds (1.3 kg) of clay—more or less depending on the desired scale.
To achieve this, throw an open pentagonal form with a thick floor (1). This will allow you to add a coil-thrown shoulder and lid opening later, as well as carve out a tall five-sided foot ring. Because the teapot’s body is pentagonal, I throw the shoulder separately to preserve the pot’s geometric quality. This means that you will throw on a bat, alter your pot into a pentagon, and then remove the bat from the wheel. This will keep the body centered while it’s drying, making for an easy return to the wheel when it’s time to throw the shoulder.
Making the Shoulder and Lid Opening
After the body has had time to firm up to the leather-hard stage, score and slip a coil to the inside edge of the now-pentagonal rim. After blending the coil to the rim, pinch the coil inward. This helps to thin the coil out before throwing it. With a small amount of water, throw the coil until it is the same thickness as the lower portion of the body (2). Be sure to cut any excess clay off as you throw the coil (3). This creates a round lid opening while maintaining the geometric body.
After you’ve established and refined the opening, use a rib to set a gallery for the lid to rest on. Measure this opening with calipers or a ruler before setting the pot aside to firm up (4). Note: Access to the inside of a teapot is important to its functionality. If brewing loose-leaf tea, you want a wide opening to clean the leaves out after use. Admittedly, I have sacrificed some of that access in favor of a more aesthetically pleasing handle attachment point.
Since the lid opening is already small, I keep my lid gallery as narrow as possible. Usually around an ⅛ inch (3.2 mm) wide.
Lid, Spout, and Handle
Center several pounds of soft clay to throw the lids and spouts off the hump. This involves isolating a small amount of clay and throwing it at the top of a larger lump of clay.
Begin by isolating an amount of clay similar to the size of a lime. Your lid size may vary from mine, but a little goes a long way. I throw this style of lid right side up, the way you’ll see it on the finished pot.
Isolate a small amount of clay in the center of the mass for your finial, then throw the remaining outer edge of clay into a disc (5). Cut away excess lid circumference to match the measurement you took with your calipers (6).
For the spout, you will section off a similar amount of clay. I like a wide-based spout, so I open the floor to roughly three inches. The goal is to throw and collar the clay into a funnel shape. Once the spout is thrown, use a chopstick or the back end of a needle tool to throw the last inch or so of the spout. Address the termination of the spout by cutting it level, smoothing it, or refining it to help break the surface tension of the liquid being poured out. It will need to be relatively sharp to avoid dribbling.
To remove a spout or lid from the hump, I make a groove where I will cut it off and leave a thin ‘waster’ slab of clay below that (7). This allows for the part to be lifted off the hump without marring it. Note: It’s always a good idea to throw multiple lids and spouts. Not only will some fit better than others, but having options will also allow you to test the limits of what works with your form.
The handle starts as a clay coil. Pinch and roll the coil until it is slightly oval-shaped, and then taper the ends. This results in a handle that feels good in the hand and looks tailored to the pot.
Trimming
After the teapot body is leather hard, I paddle and Surform to refine the geometric shape further. The foot ring is then hand-trimmed to follow the five-sided profile (8). I like to use a pear-shaped trimming tool to scoop the clay out of the foot. The only other part that is trimmed is the underside of the lid.
Strainer and Assembly
I like to start the final assembly process with the spout and strainer. Before it can be attached, you have to decide what kind of strainer your teapot needs. I personally enjoy making bulb strainers—these are strainers built (9) and perforated on a round mandrel (10) and pressed into the opening where the spout will attach. This type of strainer will keep loose-leaf tea out of your cup.
After I’ve cut out the opening and installed the strainer (11), I will modify the spout and set it in place. By cutting some of the base away from the spout, you can adjust the angle at which it rests (12). This angle is crucial for pouring quality as well as keeping liquid from pouring out of the lid. A good rule of thumb is to keep the tip of the spout and lid opening level with each other (13).
Handle attachment is the last step (14). I like to snug up these attachment points as close to the lid opening as I can (15), creating a cinched look (16). This also offsets what would otherwise be a visually bottom-heavy form. Once everything is assembled, add a signature or chop mark to the foot (17).
Firing
These teapots are fired to cone 8–10 in a wood-burning train kiln that takes roughly 30 to 40 hours to fire, depending on cooling cycles. I fire most pieces, including these, with no glazes. Instead, I use mostly slips containing high amounts of iron. The iron-bearing clay and slips yield a wide range of surfaces that I feel accent my exploration of form and function nicely.
the author Josh Scott received his BFA from the University of North Florida in 2017 and went on to obtain an MFA in Ceramics from Utah State University in 2021. Currently, he lives and makes work in northeast Florida. To learn more, visit www.joshscottpottery.com.
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