A Rainbow Of Trout Upright Ring Teapot

This was the last teapot I made before my October 29-December 4, 2005 solo exhibition at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vermont.  I needed a second teapot to fill the kiln next to “It is Still (And Yet It Moves.)”  I made a diamond-cross-section ring in two parts, both open V profiles, then attached the two Vs together using clay slip and pressure on the inner and outer diameter edges of the two open V rings.  I mounted this ring upright on an oval base, and cut out the top lid opening with an x-acto knife in preparation for adding the handle and spout.  I was thinking of an ornate Viking shield, and was planning to add studs and needle-like sharp points to the inner and outer profile edges of the upright ring.  I hadn’t decided what I was going to make for the lid finial.  I was doodling around, making the inside tab of the lid which keeps the lid from falling into the teacup when you tip the teapot forward to pour tea, and I saw that the inside tab or hook shape was looking sort of like a fish tail.  This gave me the idea to make the lid finial into a leaping fish, coming right through the lid, and only revealing itself when you lift off the lid.  Of course I then had to make the spout into another fish, and I ended up adding three more fish heads and three more fish tails, all modeled after a picture of a rainbow trout I found in one of my animal picture books.  This teapot took something like forever to finish, and then a lot longer to glaze.  I ended up using 17 different glazes on it. After I painted many different glaze colors on all the fish, I painted hot wax over all the glazed fish parts, then dipped the teapot body into two different glazes to give a watery undersea feeling to the teapot ring.  I completed the teapot after the firing by epoxy gluing iridescent reflective glass buttons into the eye sockets I had left hollowed out.  The glistening fish eyes sparkle and change color and seem to follow you as you walk past this teapot!

This teapot is held in a private collection in Alta Loma, California.

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.