Teapots are very time consuming to make; with a body, a lid, a handle and a spout to be made, trimmed and put together, they can fill up your week if not your workshop. I’ve made quite a lot this time round, playing around with small variables, different handles, lids etc. Yamada Jozan III made excellent and beautiful teapots in Tokoname, with a purity of design, function and elegance that kept the softness of the clay.
There are many directions you can go with a teapot, from fun and funky to monastically austere. They are an unusual pot because of the number of parts involved and the need to visualise those parts interrelating before you make. If I’m lucky I get to make about 20 in a day, parts and all, and then put them together the next day or the day after, depending on the weather.