Teapot show lets artists’ creativity boil over

By Brian Blair
Senior Reporter

Larry Spears’ craft suits people to a tea.

An afternoon tea, perhaps.

His teapots, part of his pottery for some 30 years, highlight creative décor while remaining solidly functional.

So his efforts are simultaneously beautiful and dutiful.

“It started as a hobby,” said Spears, speaking at his studio near Story in Brown County. “And then it turned into something more.”

Two of Spears’ porcelain efforts will be part of the multi-artist teapot show, “Spouting Off,” opening today at Columbus’ Gallery 423.

Local artists are among the more than 20 specialists included in the display, which runs through May 19.

Spears, a Columbus native, sells works from his Web site, spearspottery.com, from a display at the Brown County Art Guild and from the 20 shows per year he attends all over the country.

He once lived in Gatlinburg, Tenn., for 14 years and sold pieces there.

His buyers range from serious collectors to simple tea drinkers looking for a fancy flair before their relaxed sipping. Prices range from $100 to substantially more.

“When I go to a show, though,” he said, “I really can’t tell beforehand what’s going to sell.”

Whimsical, outrageous

Compared with his other pottery, making teapots ranks near the top of the list for pure artistic enjoyment, he said.

“I like experimenting with different spouts, handles and lids,” Spears said.

Other pieces in “Spouting Off” run the gamut “from beautiful to whimsical, from functional to outrageous,” said Gallery 423 Co-owner Geri Handley.

Columbus’ Laurie Wright, an artist in residence at Gallery 423, boasts a growing collection of more than 60 Yixing teapots, collected over the years from travels to China and through acquisitions at museum gift shops.

“Teapots are functional and entertaining little sculptures,” Wright said in a news release. “Sometimes, one will talk to me, and I know I will be taking it home.”

Artist Judith Weber of New Rochelle, N.Y., likes the concept of blending practicality and polish.

“I have always believed the objects we use every day should not only function superlatively, but enhance our lives aesthetically,” she said in her promotional material.

Gallery 423 Co-owner Kathy Leitholt, who emphasized that the displayed works will be for sale, chuckled about what could be her own purchases by the show’s end.

“Already,” said Leitholt, “I’ve spotted one that I want.”

(this article was taken from therepublic.com)