Hey Marshall,
Here is how it is done, when an artist decides to make a teapot he knows, he is typically not going too just make one. Upon the first one, her/she will get the clay ready, not liquid slip clay but formable thick clay like molding clay and roll it out, as you would sugar cookie dough getting ready to be cut (that made me crave sugar cookies). They then use a drafting like compass to make a circle for the bottom of the teapot and the lid etc… They then cut a single strip for the body and then roll pieces for the handle and spout. Once all of these raw pieces are cut, they are measured and recorded.
Here is where you could say some of the parts are mass-assembled, when they make a pot they do not make one base or lid at a time instead they use three or four sheets of clay and cut them at the same time ensuring that each one is cut with the recorded measurements each time. Imagine four sheets of clay all the same thickness sitting side by side and then cutting out a pre measured square or a circle through all three or four of them all at one sitting, this is where you get consistency. The more skillful the artists the more individual parts they can work on at one time to speed up the process.
The next thing is to make is a basic mold for the handle and or spout (this typically will be the only molds on a hand made teapot). This mold is a very generic mold with only the basic shape in mind. They use this mold more like a press because the clay is too thick to pour. Handmade teapots are made this way. They for sure are not poured into a mold. Slip Clay Molds were not used in Yixing teapots until around the Cultural Revolution (1967-1977) because Zi Sha clay is not easily made into slip clay due to the larger rock fragments within the clay and its natural consistency. This is when the mass produced Yixing teapots made their way to you local China Town tourist trap.
In China, the Chinese Central Arts & Crafts Association (CCACA for short this maybe not the official acronym) is a government ran organization they are the ones responsible for awarding and ranking artist in their field. There are two very big Yixing tea potters names in China, one of them is Xu Han Tang, and the other is Jiang Rong. Both Xu Han Tang and Jiang Rong are one of the few people classified as Master Artist in the CCACA.
According to the CCACA Xu Han Tang is in the top five living Yixing teapot artist in his field (argued the best) of making traditional Yixing teapots. Jiang Rong is the top five living Yixing teapot artist in her field that makes non-traditional nature style teapots. You also have to look at it like this who says Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Van Gogh are the most famous artist in the world would one accuse me of Puffery if I said that? Nope, I do not sell their works and I do not sell Xu Han Tang teapots either, they are too darn expensive. Of course, if you want one I cam arrange a meeting and you can fly here and get one yourself because if you are going to spend eight grand on one of this less expensive teapots you better fly here and make sure he is the one making it.
Thanks Marshall, for your kind comments I am happy to share anything I know about Tea & Teapots with all of you, just remember I do not claim to know everything and I will always take criticism in stride. If I thought, I knew it all I will would be incapable of learning anything.
One more thing I will be visiting some friends in Yixing maybe in February I will take some pictures of artist making teapots for all of you to enjoy. That also may make my descriptions above more clear.
mandjs