Chapter 141: Digging out the spout
“Don’t look at the spout of the pot, these are just small things, it is the small things that make the pot maker’s skills more evident.”
Gong Zhou is so broken As he thought, he started to pull out a new piece of purple sand clay.
“Let’s make the spout first - take a piece of mud, roll it into a tapered column that is thick at one end and thin at the other, then cut it to the length we need with a knife, and put it on a small wooden plate to shape it , prepare to dig out the spout.”
“Look, this small tool with a straight end and a curved end is the spout knife we use to dig out the spout.” Gong Zhou said, picking up the spout and pointing it at the three of them. The front of his eyes shook.
"I don't know if any of you have ever played with clay or clay sculptures. This thing looks a bit like the shaping knife that your children use when playing with clay to scrape the mud, or pinch the little person's eyes to open their eyes - but our mouth-picking The upper and lower blades of the knife should be smaller and thinner, and correspondingly sharper. , watch your hands carefully when using, don’t hurt yourself.”
“When digging the spout, the important thing is to make the wall of the spout evenly thick and smooth inside.”
“Let’s dig out the spout. The spout of the Xishi teapot I made today is relatively short, relatively speaking, there is not much arc. There are no corners, so it’s easy to dig and control.”
Gong Zhou’s mouth was quick and his hands were steady, and the purple sand mud fell all over the table as he spoke: “You make pots like those. The purple clay teapot has a long and curved mouth. It is difficult to dig out the spout. Yes, if you accidentally dig out the spout - that's it. If you dig out the spout, you have to redo it, no matter how deep or good the spout is dug in front of you."
"Let's do it. This mouth still needs one last stab... Oh, okay, that’s it.”
"Come on, come on, Comrade Xiaobai, I saw that you were almost tired of waiting there just now - I hold the spout in my hand, come and take a closer look, is it evenly thin?"
“Well... indeed, it has to be made evenly by a machine. Like." Bai Miaomiao, who was unexpectedly caught on the spot, scratched her head with a grin and said, "Teacher Gong Zhou, your hands are so steady."
"Hey...this thing. Well, the main thing is that practice makes perfect." Gong Zhou smiled kindly, "But you. What I said just now is not quite right - it doesn’t look like it was made by a machine.”
“The machine-injected purple clay teapots nowadays may not be so beautiful. They are very dead, but the cost is indeed low. , suitable for people who don’t have that much pursuit of craftsmanship, daily For making tea and drinking water.”
“It’s a pity that there are such a group of unscrupulous merchants who catch laymen who don’t know anything and force them to death. An ordinary machine-made pot is like this. We can sell semi-handmade or fully handmade products at the same price!”
"——Comrade Xiaobai, if you buy purple clay teapots in the future, you must be careful and don't be deceived by that group of unlucky merchants with dark eyes. Machine-made teapots are not worth the price."
"Yes, I remember, junior. Teacher Gong Zhou, don't worry - if nothing unexpected happens, a few of us don't drink tea very much... we shouldn't even consider buying a purple clay pot!" Bai Miaomiao said seriously after hearing this. Brainstorm.
——They are fat otakus who like to drink! (bushi)
“Hey, okay, if you don’t drink tea, there is really no need to buy these things,” Gong Zhou nodded, “Zisha needs to be nourished by tea. It’s really cool to just put it on display and not use it. Waste."
"Okay, then I will. "Let's continue making the pot handle." "The method of making the pot handle is relatively simple. We take an appropriate amount of purple clay and roll it into strips with a board - note that the handle of the Xishi teapot is an inverted handle, which is thin at the top and thick at the bottom. shape, and cut off the excess mud.”
“After finishing the spout and handle, let’s put it aside to dry for a while, then shape it, and then make the lid.”
“First remove the knob, and then we will make the lid from From top to bottom, it is divided into three parts." Gong Zhou said as he motioned to the assistant standing across the table to hand him the lid of a shaped purple clay pot, and he picked up a small bamboo skewer from the side of the table for trimming details.
“These three parts are the cover, cover plate, and stamp.”
“What are these three parts used for? Their functions should seem very obvious. What I have here I won’t tell you in detail, let’s take a look at how to do it.”
Gong Zhou put down the pot lid and pulled out a few pot-making tools: "——The tools used in this step are relatively complicated, but in addition to the various needles and knives used for regular shaping and cutting, the main tools we use are also Just two.”
“This log has a little bulge in the middle. The piece is called 'Xituo', which is a small mold that allows our clay pieces to obtain a natural convex curvature; this wooden circle with thickness and height is the 'lid base', which can ensure that our pot lid is not Deformation will occur.”
“The process of making mud strips is the same. Yes, we need two round pieces and one long strip to make this pot lid - we still need to apply moisturizing mud when gluing it together."
"In this way, let the lid surface first take shape on the virtual lump...and then. Connect the cover plate that we have chipped and painted with mud on the edge." Gong Zhou moved his hands. The work is very fluent, "The cover plate is used to connect the cover surface and the stamp opening, and to strengthen the entire lid."
"The process of making the stamp opening is very similar to that of the body tube - we can Think of it as a mini version of the body.”
"Apply the moisturizing mud and glue the links... Well, this moisturizing mud has been left for a long time and it is starting to dry out. I will need to add a little more water to moisturize it later... Okay, then new things are coming."
"Make the pot knob." Put down the lid Gong Zhou grinned, "There are many ways to make pot buttons. Take the round button we are going to make as an example. Some people like to rub it, some like to twist it, and you can also use squeezing..."
"In short, roughly use 'twisting to pick the seeds' 'Just finish the process. Let's make it simple today. I'll use the turntable and turning tool to turn one for you."
Gong Zhoudao, after speaking, he actually rolled out a cylindrical piece of purple sand and fixed it on the turntable. Cart out with a knife in hand Pot knob - this seems to be the only time since he showed them how to make a purple clay pot today that he used the method they used when they learned how to DIY small clay pots at the Ceramics Experience Center. Xu Yichi and others looked at it with a warm feeling. extremely.
——It’s not easy... Teacher/Senior Gong Zhou has been making purple clay pots for so long today... Finally, they can see a completely understandable technique!
"The level of the turning tool is enough - no matter how much you use the turning tool, it is impossible to turn the pottery surface very smooth, and you still have to put a grate on the back."
Gong who got the rough pot knob Zhou put down the turning tool and pulled out a small grate like a magic trick - Xu Yichi took a quick look and realized that the thing seemed to be no thicker than her little finger.
“There is only one grate, and the knob of the pot can be smoothed easily...Okay, now that each part of our Xi Shi pot has been made separately, we can open the holes, dig holes, and assemble the whole pot. ”