This project was the project that has required the most amount of work so far. For this project, we needed to research a pot that was at least 1,000 years old in hopes that we would be inspired by it. For this project, we really only had the requirement that it needed to be at least 10 inches tall. I chose this pot because I liked the smoothness that it had to it. The subject of my project was obviously this pot which was made in Western Persia. For this project, I used the coil technique. I chose to use the coil technique because you can build up the fastest with this technique but also I knew that I could make it wide enough to resemble my pot a bit but I was careful not to copy it exactly. One of the hardest things about this project was getting two bowls of the same size to meet up and connect them. The last coil and carve project helped during this project because I remembered it was best to smooth and blend your coils together as you stack up about three on top of each other. I also learned that it is much easier to blend coils together using a smoothing tool, rather than using your hands.

For this project, I did my research on this pot to gain a little bit of insight into its history. After I finished my research it was time to build my pot. Like I said earlier I used the coil technique because it was the quickest in building a monster project like this. I would go up about every three coils and then blend them together. Once I had a decent size pot I then built another one the same way and connected the two. After I had connected them I built a base so that I had a definitive top. After I had a top and bottom I build a handle by rolling out a coil. I was proud of the way the handle came out because it was the first time in this project I rolled a coil by hand since I used the coil machine again. After I had my handle I made a spout to resemble the teapot shape. Before I attached my spout I cut a hole in my pot so that water can flow down the spout. After I had my spout back on I put my pot in the kiln for a bisque fire. Following the bisque firing I glazed with HF - 165 because I liked how vibrant and bright this glaze was. I wanted this project to stand out because the texture stood out in my reference pot but for this I wanted my pot to stand out through its color. After I glazed it was time to put it in the kiln so I could turn it into its final form. For this project, I never really changed anything except for my approach. I originally planned on building the tea kettle all at once but then quickly realized it would be easier to build it in two sections because I knew it would be more stable and symmetrical.

The meaning behind my project is to honor the history of ceramic work. I feel like it is important to look at new and old pieces of ceramic work because it shows how much designs have changed. I feel like we see this when old ceramic work was more functional and now we see more abstract pieces. This piece relates to my life because it resembles a teapot and I enjoy drinking tea. The thing that I am most proud of is how the spout turned out. I feel that this is the best achievement in this project because it is the first time I have built something of that shape. I think that the part I struggled the most with was connecting the two large pots. I feel this was the hardest because it was hard to make them both the same size. The way that I overcame this problem was by adding more and more coils until they came together. I feel the thing that bothers me the most is how the pot looks uneven and leans towards one side. One way that I can fix that is when I am smoothing the coils together I can give more support to the inside of the pot so that the walls don't become warped.