Teapots

For the past month or so, as part of my research into narratives in clay, I have been working on a combination of sculpture with the functional forms of teapots.  Not a conventional mix, some would argue, but it has been done many times before and to great effect, too.  (Please see my earlier blog, Artist Research, including works by Richard Notkin, Patrick Horsley, Fleur Schell and Richard Godfrey, to name but a few.) 

The first teapot was a simple build that was basically a maquette to practice how to build a teapot.  It went smoothly and I learned simple aspects such as where the spout needs to start in order to be functional, and how best to make a lid.  This teapot was never designed to take through to glazing and was just there to experience the build process.  I took inspiration from Patrick Horsley’s curvy spouts.

The second teapot moved narratives into the build and gave a nod to Richard Notkin’s work as it had specific appendages that gave the story.  I used Duran, my Pooka, for this build, and the story I wrote about trying to escape from Blinksville.  Duran is in rabbit form and he holds a magic whisk, carries a fob watch, and has a pied crow feather in his top hat.  One curly ear is the handle with the other attached to the lid.

My third teapot moved the build on further with one ear being a spout and the other being a handle.  The lid was the whole top hat adorned with both pied crow feather and goggles.  Duran’s face is sculpted onto the body complete with monocle, curly eyebrow and hair.  He holds the whisk in the curl of one ear and the whole pot stands on four fob watches.  Although never designed to be functional, I incorporated aspects such as blocking off the top part of the hollow spout so that no liquid could ever get stuck.

The making process and the engineering that such pieces require to bring them together as one cohesive piece has been mostly satisfying.  There were times where aspects proved a tad tricky, for example, getting a somewhat weighty piece to the kiln for firing that was designed to stand on four fob watches as feet, but we’re nothing if not ingenious!  The engineering took some getting around at times, but I used my creativity and ironed out the issues. 

Of the three teapots I made, the aesthetic is too prescriptive to the narrative and needs to be more abstract in my opinion.  Yes, I want to incorporate the story, but these pieces look too clunky and aren’t refined enough. 

Whilst I have enjoyed making the pieces, I don’t feel teapots are my way forward.  The sculptural aspect has been most agreeable, but I found the functional body of the piece restricting at times.  In summary, the limitations outweigh the enjoyment of the build.  There needs to be another way to display the narratives with the clay.

Teapot 1

Teapot 2

Teapot 2

Teapot 3 Lid

Teapot 3 Lid

Teapot 3 Lid

Teapot 3 Body

Teapot 3 Complete

Teapot 3 Face and Feet

Teapot 3 Handle with Whisk

Teapot 3 Spout

Teapot 3 Rear