Donuts and Teapots

Donut teapots by Kaylee Bays

One of the neat things about a good clay class is watching how the students influence each other. I've always observed that a few hard working students in the studio tend to encourage other students to also work hard. This quarter was unusual in that I started and ended the quarter with a full class of 16 students. And all students were doing all the work through to the end of the quarter.

Tea set by Kim Hansen

This quarter I had three advanced students meeting at the same time as the beginning level Functional Pottery class. The advanced students were, of course, working on different projects than the beginners. And in at least one case, the forms that were being made by an advanced student influenced what some of the beginners made later in the quarter.

Donut Teapot by Lauren Coffey

Lauren Coffey, in the advanced class, started her quarter by making three donut teapots. A clay donut is a hollow form thrown on the wheel with hole in the middle. It is a more complicated form to make than what we usually do in the beginning class. It also isn't really an essential form, since there aren't a lot of forms that just NEED to be made with a hole in the middle. I usually introduce this form in the second quarter Intermediate Wheel class and even then, just for fun. The donut is thrown on its side and is often set on end to be turned into a teapot or vase.

Donut Teapot by Lauren Coffey

Lauren's first project teapots were made with thrown lids and lid attachments, thrown spouts, and added feet and handles. Seeing these forms at the start of the quarter and hearing Lauren describe the process during critique got some of the beginning students interested in the form. Kaylee Bays ended up making three donut teapots for her first project, one of them decorated in the most delicious manner as a frosted donut with sprinkles. During critique she showed us how she could also drink out of it as a mug. 

Lidded Jar by Taelynn Loyd

Taelynn Loyd, also in the beginner class, took a very different approach to her donut and cut it in half. Her original idea was to make a half donut teapot, which neatly solved one of the major problems with donut teapots: instability. She ended up not attaching a spout and handle, but her lidded container is a sweet little form and not one I remember any other students making in the past. The piece is quite small and her glaze application a little heavy; the picture above was taken before she cleaned up the glaze drips.

First Puzzle Jug by Lauren Coffey

For her last project, Lauren returned to the donut form but used it in a different application.  She created puzzle jugs using skinny, hollow donut forms for the rim and handle. Lauren followed instructions by Michelle Erickson (see the video below) on how to make the puzzle jugs work and she was able to demonstrate them during the final critique.

When Lauren blew into her jug without covering all the holes, we heard nothing. But when she blew into the jug with her finger covering the holes, she created bubbles in the water in the bottom of the jug. It was an entertaining demonstration to watch, even for those of us who could hear but not see the bubbles. Lauren's presentations during critique are usually full of details and entertaining. During this one she made students guess where the hidden hole might be (hint for blog readers: see the video above).

Second Puzzle Jug by Lauren Coffey

Lauren's first puzzle jug was a simpler design with just one hole. She used it to try out the process, which is fairly involved and requires the potter to throw two donuts, a vase or jug form, and at least one nozzle. She then needed to attach all these parts together and line up the hole in the bottom with the handle hole and make sure nothing leaked.  The proportions of the first jug aren't as elegant as the first, but in person the shine from the gold luster makes the piece more engaging generally. Lauren's second design is more complicated, with three spouts in the rim and a hidden hole besides.

Teapots by Amanda White

This was an excellent quarter in the clay studio, but I'm optimistic for next quarter, too. I have four students returning in the intermediate class and we've finally gotten the 3D printer working again (it was in some state of being repaired or waiting for repairs for nearly all of Fall and Winter quarters.