Blue Channels Pentagonal Cross-Section Reassembled Ring Teapot

When I made this pentagonal cross-section ring, I carved 4 channels into the base of the ring after I trimmed it in the leather-hard stage. I planned to reassemble the ring out of order with the carved channel surfaces intersecting the smooth panels at random. As in so many of these teapots, once I began putting the cut-apart arc sections back together, different sculptural possibilities revealed themselves which I had not anticipated. In this case, reassembling all the arc sections with the carved channel surfaces joining each other end-to-end out of order created a strong visual impact. I had a sixth small arc section "left over" after reassembling the main body of the teapot, so I added it near where I planned to put the spout as the opening for putting in the tea. I cut a small pentagonal opening, not visible in the photo, on the back panel at the top of the ring section above the handle to let in air as the tea is poured out. The lid is above the spout, and I now see in the finial an unintentional potter's pun. The drooping fingers at the end of the carved channels suggest quite clearly the firing cones a potter puts into the kiln to control and verify the temperature. I worked quite a while making those drooping fingers look "just right," without realizing that I was modeling an imitation of bending pyrometric cones!

In addition to my unique reassembled ring teapots, my partner Susan Nykiel and I also make a wide range of functional and elegant pottery pieces. Please visit our new online store at oakbluffspottery.etsy.com to see what we have to offer! This is an excellent place to shop for beautiful handmade pottery for your own home or for your gift-giving pleasure.