The Exotic Teapot

M.C. Escher is known for his graphic shapes which created a tantalizing maze.  Through sheer determination the Dutch artist started with one subject then repeatedly positioned into an amazing motif tiling.  An algorithm created to emulate his process is successfully shown in the teapot image to the right.  Escher progressed to add two objects then three as he perfected his complex tiling artwork.  Only four circle shaped patterns were created throughout his career.  The teapot image below was produced applying Escher’s non linear warp method. 

There is a TV commercial in the USA with a mini giraffe that viewers just love.  Even though not real ,who would not understand why the giraffe’s body shape would not be regularly emulated as  a teapot: it’s extended neck as the spout to control the pouring of steeped tea; round body as the base to retain enough cups of tea for guests; long legs for a handle, and; colourful spots for design.  If you haven’t seen the mini giraffe, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVxxLYmypv8

Ever walked on the beach and had some glob catch your eye not because of its beauty but because of its texture caused by the strong seas, ocean breezes and sandy floors?  Artist Susan Collett must have experienced this phenomenon.  She, with clay, emulates the push and pull forced by nature.  The result is a chaotic combination of shells, mollusks and fossilized sea creatures loosely shaped into one of the most admirable forms of all time, the teapot.

All of his adult life Brian Molanphy has studied how to make things.  As a college student he studied bookmaking and papermaking.  While participating in a European bicycle tour, he became intrigued at wood fired stoves and kilns.  So he decided to learn how to make breads, pastries and ceramic pots.  Then, after getting his master’s degree in ceramics, he decided to teach others how to make things.  Yet, he continues to make things of his own, especially decorative ones such as this porcelain cup and ceramic teapot. 

Bonnie Seeman designs utilitarian ceramic teapots to reveal intimate details of living structures and anatomical features.  Somehow she manages to create a magnificent vessel by showing a dissected vegetable inserted in a human organ then strategically placing an insect here or there.  The combination of coloured glazes, longitudinal, intricate embellishments and textures all but forces the viewer to attempt identifying what the teapot symbolizes.

There is a woman in Canada that is sure of it.  Her words:

The next day, when I was in the washroom, the same cold chill went right through me. It was a strong enough wind, to move the toilet paper. I knew for sure then that we had a ghost. About two nights after that, I had made a cup of tea after my hubby went to work and went to watch T.V. I must have fallen asleep on the couch, because a couple of hours later, the tea kettle fell off the stove, and crashed to the floor. There was water everywhere. First thoughts I had was that maybe I didn't put the kettle back on the stove right. But, when the kettle fell, the water was ice cold. And the next day I did a few tests to see if it was possible. I tried for about an hour and couldn't get the kettle to fall again. The only thing I could think of is that the ghost wanted a cup of tea. I tried talking to the ghost, to find out why it needed its presence felt at this time. No response. It has been quiet since then. The odd cold wind pushes through, but no more kettles on the floor. I guess he got his cup of tea somewhere else.

Image “Tea drinking with a ghost” 2006

This artist says his teapots are functional but not practical.  Duane Brown insists on making his pots have removable lids, pourable spouts and sturdy handles.  However, Duane is a sculptor, meaning the object emulates something.  If this a sculpture then does it not depict a teapot?  But if the teapot is functional is it not actually the object?   

Using a tea bag can be convenient and accommodating.  Whether traveling or taking to work, bags allow drinkers to place their favourite loose tea and desired amount in each bag.  All that remains is to obtain some hot water, a cup and stirrer.  This teabag mug and saucer alleviates even further the complications that could be associated with making tea.  Simply place the teabag in the position permanently marked on the cup, fill with water, stir then place the spoon as shown.

York Chang is an artist, exhibitor, photographer and curator.  This exhibit, “The Future Belongs to the Masses II” is from 2005.  “I like the sense of secret things hidden just under the surface waiting to be excavated, that throwaway image that was discarded once as flawed but now I've found.”  York believes that true meaning is real when all the elements of our senses are involved. 
These 40-year old teapots were found in an old Chinese restaurant with some tea leaves still remaining.  Because of the leaky roof of the restaurant, rainwater would seep through and frequently hit the pots.  The exhibit was designed to include a series of water pumps hung above the teapots to emulate the rain; the sounds were enhanced with a 16 channel recording of rain. 
Additionally, because the pots were aligned as if soldiers, the painting on the wall is that of Chinese soldiers.

Julia Feld has been a painter for years.  But, it wasn’t until she met clay that her art became 3-dimenionsal narratives.  A perfect example is her whimsical rendition of dwarf teapots from the children’s story “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”  Even though not functional vessels, each dwarf, or dork as she calls them, has a spout, lid and handle.  The teapots were raku fired using a garbage can full of newspaper.

After artist Chris Longwell makes a ceramic teapot or cup he acknowledges that he cannot leave it alone.  He nearly becomes obsessed with making impressions on the surfaces, usually only one specific mark or symbol.  Then, to the symbols Chris will apply a variety of glazes.  As the teapot is fired in the kiln, the multiple glazing techniques mesh, drip or enhance the multitude of symbols, giving each its own individuality.  He associates the outcome to that of viewing a field of corn.  Each stalk has its own maturity stage but when looking at the field it appears as a symmetrical pattern.     

For Australian Nikki Kools, ceramics is the media in which to reveal the human body’s smooth, silky, curvaceous contours in all its perfections.  Conversely, the heads are to reveal the good, the bad and the ugly surrounding reality.  This method of creation is what she refers to as the conscious and unconscious; hence, allowing the viewer to fill in the spaces.  Showing only one photographic angle of her teapots does not do justice to the three dimensional charisma she creates; however, her website does so.     

Robert Lawarre grew up working in the family’s aerospace company.  This is where he learned to hand build parts like a machinist and fabricator.  When learning ceramics, he combined his previous skills to pottery.  Because of his appreciation for family traditions he chose to apply these aforementioned theories to Yixing teapots, bowls and cups.  His tea ware is a patchwork of surfaces made from discarded car belts to taillight lenses, which are then washed with multiple glazes.   

I thought the purpose of a teapot was to make tea.  And, once the pot was cracked, leaky or just worn out perhaps it could be used for a flower vase.  However, there are some photographers that think differently of a teapot’s purpose.  Of late I have seen pictures showing teapots stuffed with human babies, various foods, octopus and this adorable rabbit stuffed pot.  Thus, I guess what is considered a functional teapot is in the eye of the beholder, similar to what is considered art. 

This Tea for one is the creation of Gwendolyn Yoppolo.  She believes: “Gazing into a vessel's space, form is eclipsed by void and the wall of the pot becomes a boundary that at once delimits the inside from the outside and also serves as a skin that connects them both.”  Gwendolyn creates objects that only relate to the use of human hands.  She intends her teapots to create a response and an action that requires reflection.  Making and drinking tea would be applicable.

Daniel Rotblatt works mostly in bronze; however, his teapots are worth noting.  His talents are many:  bronze casting, photography, knife making, wood sculpting and ceramics.  Rotblatt is an instructor for all of these but the latter.  Amazingly, he just likes to tinker in ceramics.  These teapots are his first experiment with this media.  The idea for the shape of the pots in this series came to him after viewing a leaning pumpkin.

Kevin Chamberlain fires his ceramic teapots in a wood kiln.  After understanding the process Kevin’s work becomes more appreciated.  Because of the ash build up from using wood when firing ceramic pieces the slender arms and legs on his sea creature and insect teapots can literally burn off if ash settles on them.  Thus, he must place the teapot in the center of the hot furnace in hopes of the ash falling to the side of the kiln instead of in the center.  However, the painstaking efforts are magnificent!

Considering customary shapes then altering is what Tom Budzak does with clay pieces.  He takes the times to contemplate such ideas only with objects that he personally admires the most, like the teapot.  Once Tom alters the shape, he applies unusual textured glazes then multiple fires in the kiln.  He believes this concept is what creates new artwork.   His boxed teapot series demonstrates this concept.

When Wayne Cardinalli shut an automobile door on his finger it temporarily prevented him from using his beloved potter’s wheel.  He remembered there were some Indonesian fabric stamps made of wood that he had been saving for some reason.  This must have been the reason; he began experimenting, stamping ceramic slabs for texturing, coiling then reshaping into one of a kind teapots, dishes and plates.  He refers to his newfound ceramic process as the ‘black nail project’ since his fingernail did turn black from injury. 

Sandra Luehrsen has a zealous interest in her family history.  Exquisite floral shapes hand-made of clay are what Sandra uses to commemorate the lives of her dearly departed.  However, it is only her sculpted teapots that she applies the flowers.  By creating the two objects as one Sandra hopes the completed teapot can be a visual metaphor for human form of one ancestor.