“Teapots: Real and Imagined” at CRAFT Gallery

CRAFT Gallery has invited eight artists to exhibit their interpretations of  a teapot. Almost every artist has been challenged to make or design one. “Teapots: Real and Imagined” opens July 6 and runs through August. The studio artists in this show consider the teapot as a functional and sculptural source for inspiration. Every teapot has a lid, a spout and a handle and yet they are as diverse and unique as the artists who create them. Each tells its own story.

Jody Johnstone and Autumn Cipala are two potters  who use different clay bodies and firing techniques to create functional teapots. Cipala is inspired by historical ceramics from many cultures. Her teapots are elegant and balanced. The proportions are studied and restrained with subtle contrasts of carved patterns on the porcelain surfaces of creamy white and pale celadon. She is known for her perfect teapot accompanied by traditional cups and saucers, cream pitchers and sugar bowls, inviting a more formal occasion of taking tea. Jody Johnstone, in contrast, uses her wood fired Anagama kiln and rough textured stoneware to create earthy pots with textures created from the heat and ash during firing. Her teapots invite casualness and comfort from the pleasures of company. Potter George Pearlman’s teapots are seen in a broader context coming from making ceramic containers that serve as a canvass  to paint colorful exuberant patterns in a theatrical way. The teapot by Siem Van der Ven, a potter known for his organic forms and patterns, reflects his response to nature. His work in this show is through the courtesy of Harbor Square Gallery.

Graphic interpretations of the culture of tea are offered by Dudley Zopp and Lissa Hunter. Zopp’s paintings of tea bowls and jars recall the Japanese  ritual of the tea ceremony. Hunter’s charcoal drawings of groups of teapots  gesture and interact with one another in a sociable way. During July and August glass artist David Jacobson will debut his new series of handblown glass vessels for use as vases, sculptural objects of serene beauty or as containers fr commemorative ashes. Jan Owen and Abbie Read will show new work as well.  Artists will be present to talk about their work during the July 6 First Friday Art Walk and live music will be played by Bill Tozier in front of CRAFT in the courtyard at 12 Elm Street. Rockland. FMI visit www.craftonelm.com or call 207 594 0167.