Triumph over teapots

I'm back! I haven't been on the computer much in the last two weeks. Every summer, Arapahoe Community College offers a two-week "bootcamp" ceramics class in between the spring and summer semesters. This year's class was on teapots, and since I had never made a teapot in 10 years of pot-making (I know, shameful), I decided to sign up. So, I've been holed up in the studio, feverishly working on teapots.

The class was great, but it was fast-paced. Adding to the challenge was the fact that I sliced halfway through my left thumb two days before the class started. I was cooking dinner, chopping stuff with my chef's knife, and next thing I knew, I had a really deep cut through my thumb. I figured they'd stitch it up at the ER, but they actually glued it back together with a skin adhesive called Dermabond. It worked great, but you can't get the glue wet! So I got to throw my teapots with a latex glove on my left hand, taped around the wrist to keep the water out. It was difficult to throw with the glove because I couldn't get a sense of how thick the walls were, and everything wound up too thick. I also had trouble pulling handles and attaching spouts, because I couldn't hold anything with my left thumb. There were a few really frustrating moments in there!

Despite the fast pace and the clumsy left hand, I got through the class with ten full teapots made. Here's a few of my last ones, which I feel were the best. The real test will be how well they pour once they're done!