Good morning coffee

[offcntr]

I've been making teapots for years, but this is my first attempt at coffee. I don't drink the stuff, you see, don't have firsthand experience in the process. (I don't drink tea either, for that matter, but Denise drinks enough for the both of us.) So of course, this is a special order.

It started with an email. Maya wanted to know when we'd be at Market, she'd like a colander, and would I be interested in making a coffee pour-over? She'd been using a commercial one, and wanted something less "soulless." I'm always up for a new challenge, so she brought a sample down. Talked about what was critical--shape, grooved inside, number of holes--and what wasn't. We decided on a pattern--wake-up rooster, of course. She said if it turned out, she might want another seven for Christmas. I said let's wait and see if I ever want to make them again.

So the first step is to measure the model in multiple dimensions, sketch out the form, and back-calculate shrinkage. (For my clay, wet dimension is about 115% of fired.) I also weighed the original; my stoneware loses about 40% in water and other volatiles during drying and firing. I started out with about two pounds of clay.

Then it's time to throw the cone. I split the clay lump, pulled some out to for a skirt, brought the rest up and out to make the cone. One I'd thrown to measure, I made a second one, then reshaped the cone by cutting on either side of the base, pressing in with a masonite square, then re-sealing the clay with my finger. I then pulled finger marks up from the corners of the now rectangular bottom, reshaping the cone to fit a filter while keeping the rim round.

When they were leather-hard, I cut grooves with a small loop trimming tool, then flipped them over on the wheel to trim and smooth the base. I scored and attached a small coil that I then threw and smoothed into a foot rim, to center the cone on a mug. I drilled out the two drip holes with a cutter made from an umbrella stay, and punched a hole in the skirt to let them see how close to full the mug was. Last, I attached pulled handles, and set them out to dry.