Composite Teapot The composite teapot project is designed to develop skills in traditional hand building techniques such as pinching, coil building, and slab construction. Additionally, students will use additive and subtractive techniques to express a personal vision through their teapot design. Students will create a series of original design sketches and then realize this concept through ceramics. Using any combination of the three basic hand building techniques (pinch, slab, coil) students will construct a teapot vessel that they will then augment via their concept sketches once the clay has begun to harden. Students will be expected to create lids, feet, handles and spouts for their teapots. For inspiration, students will review both traditional teapots (i.e. Yixing) as well as the more contemporary stylized teapots of artists like Richard Notkin and Ah Leon.
In preparation for the Composite Teapot project, students will be expected to spend several days in class researching masks and techniques which will serve as inspiration for their own designs. Additionally, students should fill at least 4-5 pages in their sketchbooks with preliminary drawings of their teapot design. Examples can be found to the right. The project rubric is attached at the bottom of the page. |