Teapots 'n Teacups

Having watched the video of Shoji Hamada making a tea set in under 4 minutes, about 20 times, and marveling that someone could do that so fast, I decided to try.
     I didn't get it done in 4 minutes, but did finish throwing and assembling in one hour.  I have spent another 30 minutes or so cleaning it up, smoothing it out, cutting the foot, and putting a handle on the teacup. The only thing I have left to do is do a little carving on the handle of the teapot, so it isn't just a bulky, thick, cylinder sticking out of the side of the pot.
     Next, I have been trying to decide on the glaze, and have settled (I think) on an Almond Spice interior, and a Mint Irish Creme on the outside... maybe drizzle a little Almond Spice along the top lip to flow down like foam - at least that's the thought process.  We all know how often the glaze turns out exactly like we imagine it in our mind's eye.  I'll post pics in a week or two when it's finished and glazed!

Edit:  Here's photos of the pot and cup...

The cup is dry and the pot is wet...

Sunlight 'n Shade

These were my last three pieces for last semester, but not the year. The glare of the tropical sun was so bad I had to place them in the shade to get these photos. But I like the effect of the natural surroundings, it helps bring out the glaze colors. This pot has a nice almond spice inside, and three blues on the outside. The lip is mint Irish creme, the first band a nice floating blue, the center band was a semi-matte light blue that almost went clear, and the bottom is an Oribe Green that went mostly blue.

I wanted to try a new shape with this one (thanks Mary, your pieces inspired this one). I also wanted to try our new Licorice glaze... and it is definitely a cone 6 or 7. At cone 5, it leaves a lot of gold looking specks throughout the glaze, almost giving the piece a yellow look. I dipped the blue first and overlapped the licorice. The blue is also a cone 6 or 7. At cone 5 it doesn't fully develop the full blue color. Having said all that, I think it turned out rather nice.

This one was experimental.  I used a Conrad Black stain on the top band (outside) and the bottom and feet.  Then I filled the inside with an Oribe, painting it on the outside with the same Oribe.  To finish it off, after the first glaze firing (cone 5), I fired it again with a very nice clear to cone 6.  The second firing gave it some very nice runs and color changes.  The feet turned out especially nice on this bowl.

Quick 'n Clean

Saw this video and couldn't resist posting it for encouragement.  You can do this too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxyZ6qk0w34&feature=player_embedded