Teapot Art at the Potter's Wheel (2)
A world-renowned artist demonstrates the beautiful but functional form of the humble teapot

Science and art
That afternoon, Choo gave away another of his "ancient Chinese secrets." He took a ruler and laid it across the neck of the lidless pot. He said the spout, after the edge is notched, and the neck or opening of the teapot, and the top of the handle (attached to the side), should all be level. It made the hydraulics of the pot work. I also saw how it balanced the scale of the pot.

At the wheel
I sat down at a wheel and practiced controlling the speed of the revolutions with my right foot-not too fast, not too slow. Not too difficult. Then someone placed a two-pound  blob of porcelain clay onto the wheel. Suddenly Choo was hovering over me. "Center, hollow, pull," he told me.


They clay, when I put my hands into it on the wheel, felt squishy. But it did not respond. When Choo put his hands over mine, the clay responded to him at once, leaping upward like a bird in flight.

The firm pressure of his hands over mine was more than I would have thought to do on my own. "Ease off," he said as the clay neared its finished form, so I gradually released my hands on my own.

And there it was a beautiful form. Though not a teapot, I had made something, a lovely tea mug not only of graceful shape but inviting to the hand.

"There," said Choo. "You can drink your tea out of that."

Addictive experience
As I was leaving, some of the others asked me if I would like to throw more pots, as the experience is addictive.

Yes, I thought. Perhaps a teapot in the shape of a cat, holding a mouse as a spout, with a curled tail as a handle. If I took a class from Choo again, I might be able to do it.

Vocabulary Focus

notch (v) to cut a V-shape into a hard surface

hover (v) to stand somewhere, especially near another person, eagerly waiting for their attention

squishy (adj) feeling soft and wet

Specialized Terms

hydraulics (n)水力学 the study and application of the laws governing liquids in motion

throw (v)拉胚to produce a piece of pottery by turning clay on a potter's wheel