Porcelain Grace - Meryl Ruth

The Emperor's Penguin Purse is a ceramic teapot in the form of a purse with penguin attributes.

A functional teapot hand-built exclusively of stoneware paperclay.
Press mold used for the quilting component.
Construction sequence: First fired to cone 06. Air-brushed with underglazes. Clear glaze then applied over this. Refired to cone 6. Lusters applied. Fired twice more to cone 017 and 018.
Size: 15.0" x 8.5" x 6.0".
Date: 2006.
Featured at Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA; Clay and the Transferred Image, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ; and Form and Grace and Whimsy, Small Group Show, Seen Gallery, Decatur, GA.
Available for purchase: Price $500.

Enlarged Views

Click for another enlarged view.

Click for creative process details.

Creative Process

Creative process illustrated.

This is actually the second version of this piece. It was originally construcged of combined porcelain and stoneware clay, but suffered an unfortunate destructive accident during its first kiln firing.
This version, made of stoneware paperclay, is a further development, with taloned claws added among other embellishments.
Preliminary process photographs of both versions are juxtaposed here to show the differences.
Early in the course of the construction of the original piece, it emerged as penguin-like in shape. Thus, I went with that thought as I continued to sculpt the purse in the figure of a penguin.
Subsequently, I gave it the colors of an emperor penguin, using air-brush techniques and glazing finishes.

Detailed Views

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		A functional teapot hand-built exclusively of stoneware paperclay. Press mold used for the quilting component. Construction sequence: First fired to cone 06. Air-brushed with underglazes. Clear glaze then applied over this. Refired to cone 6. Lusters applied. Fired twice more to cone 017 and 018. Size: 15.0" x 8.5" x 6.0". Date: 2006. Featured at Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA; Clay and the Transferred Image, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ; and Form and Grace and Whimsy, Small Group Show, Seen Gallery, Decatur, GA. Available for purchase: Price $500. Enlarged Views Back to top Back to top Creative Process This is actually the second version of this piece. It was originally construcged of combined porcelain and stoneware clay, but suffered an unfortunate destructive accident during its first kiln firing. This version, made of stoneware paperclay, is a further development, with taloned claws added among other embellishments. Preliminary process photographs of both versions are juxtaposed here to show the differences. Early in the course of the construction of the original piece, it emerged as penguin-like in shape. Thus, I went with that thought as I continued to sculpt the purse in the figure of a penguin. Subsequently, I gave it the colors of an emperor penguin, using air-brush techniques and glazing finishes. Back to top Detailed Views