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Making a cup of tea is something most people are very familiar with so its strange that
most of us know little about the teapots or cups which we use. That's why in this video
we'd like to give you the full tour and show you how a teapot is made. Then, next time
you use pottery we'll hope you stop to consider the long and surprising journey this integral
part of our day to day life has been on, before, finally, you can use and enjoy it.
The journey of a teapot starts here at the blunger where a mixture of fresh and recycled
clay is mixed with water and strong alkalis to create a liquid called slip. The slip can
then be poured into molds designed specially here at the pottery and then are left for
forty five minutes before they can be tipped. Because the clay dries quicker to form a solid
at the edges of the mold, tipping after a carefully controlled amount of time allows
most of the still liquid clay to fall away, leaving a soft but solid layer of clay around
the outside. At this stage timing is very important, minutes can be the difference between
a perfectly cast teapot and something which will have to be recycled in the blunger. The
teapot is then left in peace for a few hours relaxation, so that it can continue to dry,
before the excess clay which will not form part of the teapot is trimmed from the shape.
The mold can then be gently apart, and the teapot removed. By now the clay is leatherhard,
which means although the clay can now be handled, it is still pliable and can easily lose its
shape. Now the molds are out they are left to dry overnight.