Custom Cat Teapot
Custom cat teapot made with a combination of wheel throwing and hand building using white stoneware. This was a custom set I made for a friend very early on in my ceramics career. Read on below to see the full process.
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The Process
Building
I created this set very early on in my ceramics career. So this project was a lot of testing and experimenting with different methods throughout the process.
The three main pieces (teapot, mug & saucer) I all initially threw the form on the wheel. Then hand built and applied all of the additional pieces. The cat topper for the teapot, as well as the cat butt and tail for the cup I sculpted.
Testing
The next step was testing and refining the pouring of the teapot. It took me a few attempts to get the right curve of the spout and connections to the pot to get a nice even flow.
Once I felt good about the shape and flow, I bisque fired each of the pieces. Then tested the teapot once again after fired to make sure that water still flowed well. Because the firing process can slightly change and shrink the piece. So I needed to be sure the holes still let water flow through.
Glazing
The majority of the pieces I glazed with an Amaco brown C6 glaze.
For the sculpted cat pieces I wanted to make it look as close to my friends cat as possible. So I used Amaco Velvet Underglazes and mixed my own colors and hand painted it. Then applied a glossy clear glaze over that.
