Cardew Club News » teapot collecting

A CAT-LOVING collector has turned her home into the purr-fect place for a mad catter’s tea party.

Colchester mum Jane McCausland has spent 20 years building a treasure trove of more than 150 teapots, all in the shape of cats!

She openly confesses many of the kitsch kitties that line her living room walls look “disgusting”.

But she is so determined to make sure her collection is the cat’s whiskers that she can’t resist pouring money into it, leaving husband Greg to stew as their home becomes a feline shrine.

TURN a small zisha teapot in your hand, admire its design, its deep purple color, exquisite carving and seal. Strike it and hear a tiny metallic ping. Smell the embedded fragrance of green tea, writes Weng Shihui.

Little brown teapots abound in China, but look closely: Many are works of art that are famed for their rich and varied earthen tones, intricate craftsmanship and their ability to brew marvelous tea.

Sculptor and artist Nadia Iliffe has bought the ancient Chinese art of display tea to the UK with the launch of Exotic Teapot.

Tea buds and flowers that have been hand-tied by artisans from China’s Fujian province bloom into floral bouquets and green tea needles when steeped in hot water.

The tea blossoms are individually vacuum-sealed to stay fresh for up to 18 months and are available in resealable pouches of 24 blossoms.

The line-up includes brews such as Red Moon Pearl Display Tea (silver green tea needles encircling a red moon of globe amaranth), White Peony Tea, and Stimulating Rose Buds.

Did you have tea parties when you were growing, as my sister and I did with our dolls? I still have a few of these odds and ends of tea sets we used. Do you still have a fascination with tea pots and tea cups and trying various types of tea?

As writer Amy Palanjian says, “With a charming pot, teatime can be as magical as it was when you were six.”

From the time porcelain arrived in the West from China during the 15th century, Europeans fervently sought the expensive Asian ceramic, and even attempted to fashion their own versions in different, less expensive mediums. In England, these attempts quickly evolved to ceramic production on an industrial scale, supplying markets throughout Europe and the Americas. Though many of its creators are long forgotten, English pottery from the 17th through 18th century is today valued for its idiosyncratic potting and often whimsical decoration. More than 50 ceramic works of delftware, salt-glazed stoneware and cream-colored earthenware lent by a handful of local Philadelphia collectors comprise Turned and Thrown: English Pottery, 1660-1820.

When temperatures dip outdoors, there’s nothing quite like a nice cup of hot tea. Whether you drink black tea to start the day, chamomile tea to relax you at night or tea with lemon and honey to soothe a scratchy throat, the warm beverage provides a cozy sense of comfort, made even better by the fact that it’s good for you.

But, as anyone who’s ever thrown an imaginary childhood tea party knows, what makes tea even more enjoyable is the way it’s presented. And that’s where the teapot comes in.

This is the month to steep yourself in teapots created by clay artists from all over the world.

The second annual Texas Teapot Tournament opened last Friday at the Houston Potters Guild Shop & Gallery. Despite the title, the tournament is also an exhibition, juried this year by Oliver Goldesberry, owner of Houston’s Goldesberry Gallery, which is filled with fine craft and three-dimensional art.

Hosted by the Houston Potters Guild Clay Arts Museum and Educational Organization, the tournament includes a $1,000 grand prize for the winning teapot and a 2008 Memorial Award, given this year in honor of Tom Acquisto, former owner of the Ceramic Store, whose death this summer saddened the Houston clay community.