To flange or not to flange, that is the question

Making lids is tricky business no matter how you cut it. You can choose a lid that sits on a lip created on the bottom vessel part of the pot, or create a lid with a flange that juts into the body of the pot. I am working on the process of the flange, how to make a flange, making the lid the right diameter to fit in the pot and leave enough to trim the lid later.

In this picture you are looking at the lids upside down. Later when they are leather hard I will flip them over and trim the top. I threw seven today with the hopes that three will fit as sugar bowl lids.

Another lid project

When I made the first teapot body I had made another but decided the form didn’t lend itself to a teapot after all. I’ve decided to experiment with it instead. This week I started playing with having the lid mimic the the two flares off the rim.

More Teapot Progress

Needless to say, making teeny lids is not a fun exercise.  It was interesting to figure out how best to trim the surface as well as complete a complimentary knob without the sucker caving in.  The depth of the interior is a key design element. It determines how shallow the lid will be or if it will have a lot of height like a corn silo. Nonetheless, an interesting process.

Current work out of the kiln

I am particularly pleased about these two pieces fresh out of the kiln.

The piece on the left is a white on white glaze combo using my frost glaze. It has the elegance I am going for. Unfortunately some of the color of the one next to it transferred over and there is a pale green on one of the sides making it a second. It is beautiful nonetheless.

I love the vessel on the left! What’s hard to see here are the three glazes at work.Under the shoulder the green mingles with the frost creating an interesting effect. From the top lip to the green the clear glaze an illusion of watercolor is creating in the washiness of one glaze atop another. The same is true on the lid knob.