March 2025
I quit trying slip trailing until recently because I never found a tool that suited my practice. When a student asked me to demonstrate a traditional pickling jar, I thought it was the best candidate to test this cake decorating tool I got from HEB clearance. There is a doubled wall gally where the lid rests for a water seal. There is a small drain to be plugged with a piece of waxed wood. I got this from looking at a DX Gordy, large jar in the Westville pottery. The student showed me a contemporary version from the internet. I think this was around 8-10 lbs. The Gordy version probably took 25lbs, which is what I used to use to make churns and other larger pieces, close to my limit. I still used the collar technique for joining 2 wet parts which I learned also from DX when he revisited Westville.

Some new teapots in Process: this is in the green-ware stage prior to smoothing out some of the surface blemishes from handling while putting the parts together. The wo types of lids are both thrown off the hump, one flat, one domed thrown upside-down with the knob added later. The domed lidded teapot is carved through white slip. To make a teapot work, I follow the steps in Michael Cardew’s Pioneer Potter book. My style is different but I try to make sure my teapots work. The domed one has a flange which catches when pouring. The strap catches the flat lid.
March 2025