“The Atlanta Teapot Festival”

In April, Atlanta will host an important new city-wide cultural event. The Atlanta Teapot Festival will celebrate teapots, tea ceremony, and related objects with a broad curriculum of educational events, exhibits, and works for sale. The Festival will draw national attention and establish Atlanta as a destination city for teapot collectors and tea enthusiasts, while highlighting the city’s world-class ceramic studios, galleries, artists, and educators.

The Atlanta Teapot Festival will take place over the course of a month at several different venues. Concurrent gallery exhibitions will open on April 15, 2006, at three of Atlanta’s preeminent fine craft galleries: MudFire Gallery, The Seen Gallery, and The Signature Shop and Gallery. These exhibitions will present a huge portfolio of teapots and related works by the most significant clay artists working today, gathered from all over the country. Regional and local artists will be presented alongside these living masters.

The Festival incorporates a juried awards competition. Atlanta ceramicist and author Rick Berman will jury Festival-wide awards for Best Functional Teapot and Best Sculptural Teapot, with a $250 prize for each.

MudFire Clayworks will also host a series of free artist lectures focused on the teapot. Kathy King, ceramics professor at Georgia State University, will present “The Teapot Through Time”, a slide lecture and overview discussion of the evolution of the teapot from its roots as a functional object to the current explosion of interest in the teapot as a signature studio art form. Mark Shapiro, a nationally-recognized studio potter and teapot master from Massachusetts, will host “Teapots, Etc.”, an artist talk with slides about the teapot and his work and influences. Both Mark and Kathy are seasoned workshop leaders who have presented throughout the US.

Shapiro will also lead a two-day workshop demonstrating the construction of teapots and tea ware, addressing the classic challenge of designing and harmonizing teapot and tea set components that work together both visually and mechanically for a successful teapot. MudFire Clayworks will host this ticketed event, appropriate for active clay artists and collectors.

Additional programming at other venues is under discussion.

Gallery exhibit details:

All gallery exhibits are free and open to the public. Works exhibited are available for sale.

“100 TEAPOTS” at The Signature Shop & Gallery. A national invitational including our gallery artists. April 15 - May 8, 2006. Opening reception: April 15, 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 3267 Roswell Rd, Atlanta, GA 30305. 404-237-4426, sigshop@thesignatureshop.com, www.thesignatureshop.com . Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday 10:00 am to 5:30 pm.

“Tea Time” at The Seen Gallery. Invited works by Lisa Stinson, Mitchell Zwick, Kimberly Dean, and Joanna Stecker plus juried selections. April 15 - May 14, 2006. Reception. April 15, 6:00pm - 11:00pm. 321 West Hill Street Ste 7A, Decatur, GA 30030. 404-377-0733. www.theseengallery.com . Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12 - 9 PM, Sunday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Closed Monday.

“Teapots A-Go-Go 2006″ at MudFire Gallery. This show will include 100+ teapots including juried submissions and work by invited artists including Tom and Elaine Coleman, Sam Chung, Pete Pinnell and Lana Wilson. April 15 - May 8, 2006. Opening reception: April 15, 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. 175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030. 404-377-8033. info@mudfire.com. www.mudfire.com . Hours: Thursday through Saturday from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Also available during studio hours posted on website with advance notice.

Additional programming details:

“The Teapot Through Time” an artist lecture by Kathy King. Saturday, April 29 at 7:00 pm. MudFire Clayworks, 175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030. 404-377-8033. info@mudfire.com. www.mudfire.com . Free to attend.

“Teapots, Etc.” an artist lecture by Mark Shapiro. Friday, April 14 at 7:00 pm. MudFire Clayworks, 175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030. 404-377-8033. info@mudfire.com. www.mudfire.com . Free to attend.

“Teapots, Etc.” a two day demonstration workshop by Mark Shapiro. April 15 & 16 from 10:00 am -5:00 pm. MudFire Clayworks, 175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030. 404-377-8033. info@mudfire.com. www.mudfire.com . Please call to purchase ticket, space is limited, $125 fee.

Additional programming is under discussion with other venues. Proposals for additional programming are encouraged.

(this article was taken from theweekly.com)