Teapot works steeped in creativity

An exhibition opening May 12 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts challenges the notion teapots must be short and stout with a handle and a spout.

The vessels in the invitational show “Teatime: The Art of the Teapot” range from nursery-rhyme conventional to outside-the-pot artistic, such as a tiny teapot that looks like a girl sitting on a log and a shrine to this iconic vessel that hangs on the wall, said Paul Flickinger, chairman of the multi-dimensional show. The exhibit includes 150 works by as many artists from around the country, including 16 from Michigan (none are from the Grand Rapids area).

The diversity of submissions is what Flickinger suspected would result from a call to participate in a ceramics show based solely on the classic yet complex form of the teapot.

“There are so many different parts that need to be added to make it functional as a teapot. This offers the opportunity for self-expression,” Flickinger said. “I knew it would be one form in which we would find the most individual expression.”

Ten identical teapot bodies with 10 different spouts would look like 10 completely different teapots, Flickinger said. Jeri Hollister, an Ann Arbor artist known for her equine-inspired sculptures who made a horse-shaped teapot for the exhibition, agreed.

“The teapot is one of the most challenging forms to make functional,” said Hollister, who will be one of four artists participating in a two-day symposium held in conjunction with the exhibition. “Every ceramic artist experiments with making teapots. The goal is to create something beautiful and functional and balanced…. Everyone wants to make them their own.”

Artists have to think about where the spout is positioned on the pot so it doesn’t drip tea after pouring. And there has to be a physical balance, so lifting the pot is easy, as well as a visual balance, Hollister said. Her attempts to explore a genre she doesn’t typically work with to prepare for the exhibition taught her much, she said.

“I confirmed my great amount of respect for people who are good at making teapots,” she said.

Flickinger said he invited Hollister to participate in the show because he wanted to see what a sculptor, rather than a studio potter, would do with the teapot form. Hollister’s sculptures include wheel-thrown components. Her contribution to the show is a creation that looks like a horse jumping over a round shape; the tail serves as the handle and the mouth is the spout.

The history of teapots follows the history of tea, which dates back about 4,000 years, Flickinger said. The earliest-known teapots were made about 3,000 years ago and reflect the design influence of the cultures in which they were made.

“Nearly every culture in the world has a small tea ritual, whether it’s English afternoon tea or a Japanese tea ceremony, because it’s second to water as the most widely drunk beverage in the world,” he said.

The tea symposium that takes place in conjunction with “Teatime: The Art of the Teapot” includes a tour of the KIA’s walk-in kiln and demonstrations of teapot-making by Hollister and three other artists: Bennet Bean of Blairstown, N.J.; Richard Bresnahan of Avon, Minn.; and Fong Choo, a Singapore-born American potter in Louisville, Ky.

(this article was taken from mlive.com)