Making Sensational Tea Bowls With Dry Glazes

Hand-built (as opposed to thrown) tea bowls offer the opportunity of using dry glazes to produce some sensational effects. Start out the same way you make clay art plates, by rolling out a quarter inch slab of clay, using either a mechanical slab roller or a rolling pin. The advantage of a mechanical roller is uniformity of thickness and smoothness of surface. Then cut out a rectangle 4" wide by 11" long (the remaining clay scraps will be used later on in this project). Put the clay rectangle onto a textured slab mold with the design you prefer, and tamp the clay onto the slab mold with a sand bag (this impresses all the texture into the clay and keeps the clay from moving when it is rolled using a pony roller). Then roll a pony roller firmly over the rectangle to fully impress the design into the clay. Use the small end of the pony roller to bevel the 4" ends at a 45° angle, to make it easier to overlap the seams of the finished bowl.

Stand the slab on an 11" side and form into a cylinder. Score the textured side of one of the 4" ends and the smooth side of the other 4" end, to create a roughened overlap at the seam. Join the two 4" ends with vinegar or slip to ensure that the seam will join. When fired, dry glazes will help make the seam less noticeable. Overlap the two ends and press the seam together, being careful not to erase the impressed texture near the seam. Measure four equally-spaced marks along the top of the cylinder, and cut out four triangular darts ¾" deep and 1" wide centered on these marks. The larger the cut-out triangles, the more drastic will be the base angle on the finished vessel. Score the edges of the cut-out triangles and paint them with slip; fold the flaps down until they touch; and firmly but gently press the cut triangle edges together, leaving an empty square at what will be the bottom of the tea bowl. To make a base, turn the tea bowl over on a left-over piece of the original slab, and trace around the bottom edge of the tea bowl onto the clay slab; then cut out this square with a clay-cutting tool. Score the underside edges of the square; attach it to the bottom of the tea bowl with vinegar or slip; and use a pony roller to firmly set the base onto the tea bowl.

To make the foot of the tea bowl, cut out a strip of clay ¾" wide and cut its length to match the circumference of the tea bowl's base slab. Score the upper edge of this foot and use vinegar or slip to attach its ends together, and to fasten it to the bottom of the tea bowl. Stand the tea bowl right side up and form the final shape which the rim will take (it can be square or round, as you choose). Soften the lip of the top edge with a damp sponge. Bisque-fire the tea bowl to the correct cone temperature (depending upon what clay body was used), and then apply whatever glaze you prefer to achieve the desired effect, and give a final firing. If the tea bowl will be actually used to contain food or drink, then it is necessary to employ lead-free and certified food-safe pottery glazes.