16 • DECEMBER 2016
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from Cindy
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Paul Wilson
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M
ARTS EXPOSURE • LISA MAUE
Teapot Tales
Creating an ancient form in clay today
H
ang out with long time potters for any length of time and the subject of teapots invariably comes up. Requiring a combination of shapes and skills, design and function, the creation of a teapot from scratch out of clay is considered the pinnacle of achievement, a feat mastered by few but honored by many within the craft. Alan Miner, Denise Henry and Ivy Heymann are among the potters making functional ceramics in Lincoln County. Their styles differ, but all believe that teapots represent the highest level of proficiency. “Potters who can make a good teapot consistently are worth their salt,” Heymann said. Miner, a ceramics instructor at Easter New Mexico University-Ruidoso for 11 years, works in high-fire white stoneware, fired in the 2,300 degree F range. The hard and dense clay results in large, imposing teapots. Miner offsets massiveness by incorporating large, looped and textured handles that sometimes include hanging embellishments, like crystals. Henry has been making teapots only for a few years and works in lower temperature stoneware, spurred on by Miner, who was her teacher. Her studio in Ruidoso, close to Miner’s shop, features smaller, personal teapots. One looks Japanese while others reflect modern sensibilities. Born in Brasília, Henry is admittedly conditioned by the angular, clean lines of the architecture of Oscar Niemeyer, who helped design the Brazilian capital. Heymann lives and works outside of White Oaks. She works in porcelain, a smoother clay fired at higher temperatures. The walls of her teapots are thin, and her designs are delicate. She mixes earth materials and metallic oxides for glazes that reflect the colors of the landscape she looks out onto through the window located above her throwing wheel. Careful examination is needed at every stage in making a teapot, perhaps most of all in inception. Thinking out the process before any manual work has its roots
as
h r C i s y tm r re
acrylic & mixed media on canvas
Three of Ivy Heymann’s teapots. (Photos by Lisa Maue)
COWTRAIL ART STUDIO
will no longer be doing retail business as of January 1. I’ll still be painting and all visitors will still be appreciated; just email me first! vcartcat@hotmail.com
Holida y Favorites
6 Downtown Silver City images available as prints and cards. Gift certificates available.
211-C N. Texas St., Silver City www.loisduffy.com 575-313-9631 Studio open to the public Saturdays from 10 to 4pm or by calling 575-313-9631
Heymann holding the body of a teapot with counterbalanced lid in background. in pottery’s earliest history. The teapot’s origin is unclear but one theory is that the form evolved from Chinese wine vessels. Beginning in 1510, development of teapots exploded in the Yixing region, largely due to its abundance of a perfect stoneware clay. Early teapots were carved out of a solid block, then thrown on a wheel and then, later that century, cast in molds. Regardless of method, potters did not work alone. Intellectuals and writers were involved in the process, some inscribing poems as decoration, others working out desirable proportions. Critiques pushed potters and elevated the craft into art with the results being efficient pieces of functional ware and a means of artistic expression. This seemingly incongruous combination exists today. “Every step has a question — what, where, when, why and how,” Heymann explained in describing her initial approach. “You have to decide what size you want, what volume, what form, character and style.” For Heymann, style manifests attitude, meaning a decision needs to be made as to whether the pot will embody a sensual, feminine look or a strong, aggressive form or something in between. Once an idea is fleshed out, the working process takes about a week and begins with a slab of
clay. All the pieces must be made at the same time so they dry at the same rate. The spout, the lid and the main body are thrown on a wheel. The body is the largest piece. It needs to keep the water hot but not adversely affect the taste or aroma of the tea being brewed. “I like spheres,” Heymann said. “It is a beautiful form all by itself, and once you put a handle on it, you can hold the teapot from any point and pour.” Meanwhile the spout must ease water out smoothly without it shooting or spurting out or dripping after the pour. Consistent flow is possible when the height of the opening is level with the rim of the body and the spout stands at a sufficient angle. Angles are also important when slicing off the opening. “I cut the spout at 45 degrees and then carve a small groove inside the top to slow the water down,” Heymann said. “If you cut the spout level, the torque of throwing means that the clay, which has a memory and wants to return to its original state, has a tendency to twist back when it is fired,” Miner added. “I also make my spout openings a little bit bigger so the tea flows better, and I include a belly or secondary chamber where it meets the body
TEAPOT
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