Funky Teapot Sculpture

Assignment

Your assignment is to make a functional teapot with a non-traditional teapot design. Your teapot needs to have a spout, handle, and lid, however, you need to push your design to be more sculptural, fun, and funky.

Objectives:

Students will create a hollow form
Students will understand how to prevent hollow forms from exploding in the kiln
Students will create a functional spout, lid and handle for a tea pot
Students will create a fantasy or abstract design for their teapot

Art inspiration

Yixing Tea Tradition

How to make Gong Fu Cha, the ancient Chinese tea ceremony using aged Pu-Erh or rare Oolong teas in the Yixing teapot.

Yixing vs Jianshui Teapots & Teaware

How the Masters Make A Classic Yixing Teapot

Process of making a Yixing teapot

Yixing Style Teapots

Functional Teapot Examples

Sculptural Teapot Examples

Hollow Forms

Why create hollow forms when you are making clay sculptures?

Clay will explode in the kiln if it is too thick!
Your sculptures will be overly heavy if they are solid!
It is a waste of clay as a material to not build hollow forms!

Creating Hollow Forms : Pinch Pot Method

Creating hollow forms for your sculpture is important because clay that is too thick will likely explode in the kiln.

Tips:
**Always make sure to poke a hole in your hollow forms so trapped air can escape.

**You can stuff your hollow forms with newspaper so they will hold their shape better.

** You can paddle your form into other shapes other than an oval.

** You can add clay to your hollow forms and sculpt beyond the initial shape as along as you score and slip.

Skill Builder: Hollow Form Whistle

Learning objectives:

Students will be able to create a hollow form out of clay
Students will practice being careful with hollow forms when blending and forming

Directions:

Follow the visual directions and the video directions provided to make your clay whistle.

Create a hollow form with clay
Create a mouthpiece
Make the openings
Decorate

Making a Clay Whistle.mp4

Planning - 10 points

Create a teapot sculpture design sketch:

Your teapot needs to have a hollow form to hold liquid, a spout, a handle, and a lid.
Consider your sculpture from all angles.
Color in your design to plan for future glazing.

Turn in your sketch on Google Classroom

UNIT 4: PLANNING AND DESIGN - Teapot

Process

Making a teapot using the coiling method

Building the teapot body using the pinch pot method

Making the lid, spout, and handle tutorial

Slab constructed teapot