Chapter 141 Digging the Spout

"Don't underestimate the spouts and handles of teapots. They are small things. It is the small things that show the skill of the teapot maker."

Gong Zhou muttered to himself as he dug out a new piece of purple clay.

"Let's make the spout first. Take a piece of clay and roll it into a tapered column that is thick at one end and thin at the other. Then use a knife to cut out the length we need and shape it on a small wooden plate. Then we'll prepare to dig out the spout."

"Look, this small tool with one end straight and the other end curved is the digging knife we use to dig out the spout of a pot." Gong Zhou said as he picked up the digging knife and shook it in front of the three people.

"I don't know if any of you have ever played with soft clay or clay sculptures. This thing looks a bit like the shaping knife you kids use to scrape mud when playing with soft clay, or to make eyes for figurines - but the upper and lower blades of our mouth-scooping knife are smaller and thinner, and correspondingly sharper. Watch your hands when using it, and don't hurt yourself."

"When digging a spout, the key is to make the wall of the spout evenly thick and the inside smooth and flat."

"The spout of the Xishi teapot we made today is relatively short. It doesn't have a big curvature or any corners, so it's easier to dig and control."

Gong Zhou spoke quickly but his hands were steady. As he spoke, the purple clay debris fell all over the table. "If you make a purple clay teapot with a long and curved spout like they do, it's not easy to dig out the spout. If you're not good at it, you might end up digging a hole in the spout. That's it. You have to redo it, no matter how deep or good the previous spout is."

"We just need this last cut to our mouth... Okay, that's it."

"Come on, Comrade Xiaobai, I saw you were almost impatient waiting here - I'll hold the spout in my hand, come and take a closer look, is the thickness even?"

"Yeah...indeed, it's as even as if it was made by a machine." Bai Miaomiao, who was caught red-handed, grinned and scratched her head, "Teacher Gong Zhou, your hands are so steady."

"Hey... this thing, the main thing is practice makes perfect." Gong Zhou smiled kindly, "But what you said just now is not quite right - mine doesn't look like it was made by a machine."

"The current machine-injected purple clay teapots may not be so beautiful. They are very old-fashioned, but the cost is indeed low. They are suitable for people who don't pursue craftsmanship so much and can be used for daily tea making and drinking."

"It's a pity that there are a group of unscrupulous merchants who take advantage of laymen who know nothing about making things and try to make a living by selling an ordinary machine-made pot for the price of a semi-handmade or fully handmade pot!"

"——Comrade Xiaobai, if you buy purple clay teapots in the future, you must be careful and don't be cheated by those unlucky merchants with black eyes. Machine-made teapots are not worth that much."

"Yes, I remember it. Teacher Gong Zhou, don't worry - unless there is an accident, we don't drink tea much... so we won't easily consider buying a purple clay teapot!" Bai Miaomiao nodded seriously after hearing this.

——They are fat people who like to drink beverages! (bushi)

"Oh, okay. If you don't drink tea, then there's really no need to buy these things," Gong Zhou nodded. "Zisha teapots need tea to maintain their health. It's really a waste to just put them there without using them."

"Okay, let's continue making the handle." "The method of making the handle is relatively simple. We take an appropriate amount of purple clay and use a board to roll it into strips - note that the handle of the Xishi teapot is an inverted handle, which means it is thin at the top and thick at the bottom - shape it, and then cut off the excess clay."

"Let's put the finished spout and handle aside to let them air out for a while so they can take shape, and then we can make the lid."

"First, we will remove the knob of the teapot. The lid of the teapot can be divided into three parts from top to bottom." Gong Zhou said as he motioned to his assistant standing opposite the table to hand him the lid of a formed purple clay teapot. He then picked up a small bamboo stick used to trim details on the table.

"These three parts are the cover, the cover plate, and the puncture hole."

"What are these three parts used for? The functions should be very obvious. I won't explain them to you in detail. Let's just look at the methods."

Gong Zhou put down the lid of the pot and pulled out a few more tools for making the pot: "——The tools used in this step are relatively complicated, but apart from the various needles and knives used for regular shaping and cutting of clay, we only use two main tools."

"This round wooden block with a slight bulge in the middle is called 'Xutuo'. It is a small mold that allows our clay piece to obtain a natural convex curvature. This wooden ring with thickness and height is the 'lid base'. It can ensure that our lid will not deform when making the lid."

"The process of making clay strips is the same. We need two round pieces and one long strip to make this pot lid - and we still need to apply clay when gluing them together."

"In this way, let the lid surface first hollow out the shape on the hollow lump... and then connect it to the lid plate that we have already cut and smeared with mud on the edge." Gong Zhou's hands moved smoothly, "The lid plate is used to connect the lid surface and the pierced mouth, and to reinforce the entire lid."

“The process of making the piercing is very similar to making a body tube – we can think of it as making a mini version of the body tube.”

"Apply the clay and glue the links... Well, this clay has been around for a long time and is starting to dry out. I'll need to add some water to moisten it... OK, then here comes the new stuff."

"To make a teapot knob." Gong Zhou put down the lid and grinned. "There are many ways to make a teapot knob. Take the round knob we want to make as an example. Some people like to rub it, some like to twist it, and some can squeeze it..."

"Anyway, it can be made using the 'twisting and picking' process. Let's keep it simple today. I'll use the turntable and lathe tool to make one for you."

Gong Zhou said, and after he finished speaking, he actually rubbed out a columnar piece of purple clay, fixed it on the turntable, and used a handheld knife to carve out a pot knob - this seemed to be the only time since he demonstrated the method of making purple clay pots to them today that he used the method they used when they learned DIY small pottery jars at the pottery experience hall. Xu Yichi and others felt very familiar when they saw it.

——It’s not easy... Teacher/Senior Gong Zhou has been making purple clay teapots for so long today...Finally, he showed them a technique that they can fully understand!
"The lathe tool is good enough to this extent. No matter how hard you use it, it is impossible to make the ceramic surface smooth. You still need to use a grate later."

After getting the rough pot knob, Gong Zhou put down the turning tool and took out a small comb like a magician. Xu Yichi took a quick look and felt it, and felt that the thing seemed not even as thick as her little finger.

"With just one comb, the pot knob can be easily smoothed out... OK, now all the parts of our Xishi pot have been made. Now we can open the mouth, dig holes, and assemble the whole pot!"

previouscatalognext