January 2025 - Tea Pots

Going into this month I was very nervous. I set the bar really high with this first project. I had never attempted a tea pot, I had never seen a tea pot in the makings in my studio. So I did what I do best - took to the internet for guidance.

I won’t call myself “self taught,” I did in fact take some pottery classes when I first started. However they were a beginner and and intermediate wheel class. We covered the basics for sure and I think that is the reason I have such a strong foundation in my skills, was having the space to try and fail with someone to give pointers along the way.

However, I did adopt the idea of “FAFO” - f*ck around and find out - early on. This made the losses less painful and the successes that much more exciting. The idea of exploring even more came from this concept.

Clay is endlessly recyclable - until it is fired. If you try something and it fails - smash it and start over - pottery is almost yogic in that it teaches you nonattachment. If you do not learn this lesson you will find that you are constantly disappointed by failures, rather than learning from them so you may find growth in that discomfort.

Anyway, tea pots. They’re a real PITA to make. First you need a body, then you need a lid that fits that body, and a spout for the tea to pour from.

I had only 1 time previously made a lid for a vessel that was thrown separately from it. I do not currently have a set of calipers. For those with more experience you can see where this is going. Calipers make your life so much easier when trying to measure inner and outer diameters for a lid. In the absence of calipers I used a ruler and measured many, many, many times to get a fit. During the trimming of the first tea pot I learned that these measurements were not very good and I had A LOT of work to do to make the lid fit.

***Yes Mrs. Parrish I do still use that geometry you taught me in high school*** but then there is some physics in the way clay shrinks that was not accounted for.

Then there is the oh so finicky spout. Ugh. Spouts. My family has always been big on tea. So I have seen MANY tea pots in my life, but as I was forming this spout I had no concept of how to make one that poured well. I will say, the first one I have every made — pretty damn good IMO — but it is more of a “tea for one” pot.

First question my mom asked when this one was done was “does it pour well?” —answer “pretty good - considering - a little dribbly. The second and third iterations were much better.

Conclusion — I do not love making tea pots. I would rather find one that someone else enjoyed making so that I can carry that joy on. I will do it again, I have had friends ask for one, but they will certainly not be regularly seen in my stock.