Throwing Teapots and Lidded Pots
If you are a confident thrower looking for a challenge, come join us for a 4-week course, where we will refine your skills, develop new ones, and create some beautiful teapots or lidded pots ready for the colder months ahead.
As a potter, teapots are one of my favourite things to make. They provide an opportunity to really flaunt your throwing skills, from throwing the perfect body, to creating a delicate non-drip spout and turning a snuggly fitting lid.
The humble teapot encompasses a lot of techniques, they require carefully considered components with small margins for error. For a confident thrower they are a great way to refine your skills. We are all familiar with the traditional shape of your classic teapot, however they offer great opportunity to think outside the box. Your Tutor Tim Fluck is drawn to Japanese inspired forms, where wonderfully balanced proportions result in a beautifully composed object which goes beyond functionality. For those who prefer to focus on pots with lids, and not the handle and spout of a teapot we are happy to adapt to your needs.
This workshop requires students to be confident in creating a range of thrown forms and is thus not suitable for beginners.
- Week 1: In the first week we will discuss the humble teapot and the science behind the positioning of handle and spout. Students will then throw the main form, create a gallery, and throw puck to turn into a lid.
- Week 2: This week we will be turning our main body and carefully turning our lid to ensure a perfect fit. Following this we will recap on spout positioning and then throw our own spouts (with a couple spare just in case).
- Week 3: In this week things start to take form, we will turn our spouts, create lugs for handles and begin assembling our teapot ready for its first firing.
- Half Term Break
- Week 4: This week we come back to decorate and glaze our bisque fired teapots. To make things a bit more exciting we will be exploring decorating using large calligraphy brushes, creating expressive brush strokes on the surface of our pots in stains or oxides, with accents in bright underglaze. Following decoration, teapots will be glazed ready for their final firing.
The 4-Week Course is open to all adults (18+) and runs on Fridays for 3 hours each session.
The course cost includes your teapot or lidded pots, instruction and refreshments. Finish teapots or lidded pots will be ready to collect in 2 – 3 weeks.