African Giraffes Upright Ring Teapot

17" tall x 13" wide x 4" deep

Often a simple decision can lead to a long and difficult process. When I decided to make an African Giraffes teapot, I had already modeled South American Jaguars; Asian Panda Bears; Antarctic King Penguins; African Elephants; African Highland Gorillas; African Black Rhinoceri; Hawksbill, Green, and Black Sea Turtles; Central American Keel-Billed Toucans; Pacific Puffins; Australian Kangaroos and Koala Bears; and Madagascar Ringtailed Lemurs and Chameleons. I still have a stack of animal picture books two feet high which I used for reference. The giraffes were the most difficult sculpting project I attempted, especially the juvenile giraffe sitting on the lid. I gave up trying to find a picture of a giraffe sitting down, and used a picture of an oryx to see how the legs folded and how they were proportioned. Modeling each giraffe figure took as long as making the ring teapot. When I biscuit fired the teapot, the large giraffe figure’s neck warped away from the top of the ring.

It took a full day to glaze each figure with the distinctive giraffe camouflage pattern. To make sure the giraffe’s neck bonded to the top of the ring in the glaze firing, I had to tilt the teapot back far enough on its base in the kiln so the giraffe figure’s neck would lean against the top of the ring. I glazed the teapot itself a green-brown matt glaze to suggest the African Giraffe’s diet of tall tree leaves. I was very pleased with this finished teapot, but I realized I was investing a lot of time and energy in technical and zoological issues, and I needed to be working more directly on creative ceramic art issues. This very challenging teapot helped move me in a more abstract compositional direction.

This teapot is held in a private collection in Roslyn, New York.

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.