African Elephants Upright Ring Teapot
14" tall x 13" wide x 4" deep
In my first upright ring teapots I tried to relate the teapot
form to the endangered animals attached. I gouged, scraped, and
scratched the surface of this ring to suggest the leaves and tree
bark that are the African elephants main food source in their
jungle habitat. To further this reference I glazed the teapot in
various matt and glossy greens, purples, browns, and blacks. I had
already put the ridged and double-curved elephant-trunk
spout on the South American Jaguars Upright Ring Teapot, and I used
it again on this teapot to echo the sculpted animal-figure elephant
trunks. I placed the adult mother elephant figure with tusks inside
the ring, and added a baby elephant on the lid facing a second baby
elephant perched on the trunk-shaped spout. I was encouraged by
the acceptance of this piece in the National Teapot Show III,
held at the Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor, North Carolina, July-September
1996.
This teapot is held in a private collection in West Orange, New
Jersey.
In addition to my unique reassembled ring teapots, my partner Susan Nykiel and I also make a wide range of functional and elegant pottery pieces. Please visit our new online store at oakbluffspottery.etsy.com to see what we have to offer! This is an excellent place to shop for beautiful handmade pottery for your own home or for your gift-giving pleasure. |