HOT DIG-IT-TEA DOG
- This stoneware teapot is an advance on a prior work, Tea-nie Weenie, with a number of major and minor differences.
- The purse is more elongated. The Dachshund puppy's sculpted head and legs are larger. Its face is changed and enhanced in detail. More folds appear in the side panels, accentuating the large barrel front frame of the dog's chest. The tail is made longer and narrower.
- Handbag surface, handle and tail are press mold for the Western tooled leather look. Head and feet are sculpted.
- Construction sequence:
- First fired to cone 06.
- Hand-painted details applied to the face with underglazes. Handbag also underglazed. Black glossy glaze applied to the interior of teapot to make it watertight.
- Refired to cone 5/6.
- Golden opalescent overglaze applied.
- Third firing to cone 017.
- Lusters to hardware of vessel, buttons and clasp.
- Fourth firing to cone 018.
- Clear gloss glaze to eyes. Cold finished with cubic zirconium crystals to the collar and crushed turquoise to the buckle clasp for an inlay appearance.
- Shown at The Art of Tea, an invitational show at Metropolitan Art Center (VisArts), Rockville, MD
- Date: 2009.
- Size: 7.25" x 17.5" x 5.0".
- Sold.
ENLARGED VIEWS
CREATIVE PROCESS
- The teapot body is constructed of clay slabs in an elongated form that will serve to simultaneously portray the long Dachshund's body and a similarly designed purse. It is intended to be longer than its predecessor, Tea-nie Weenie.
- Modified cording is also added. The lid is made in the form of a dog bone.
- A sculpted puppy's head and an extruded handle are added.
- Paws are fashioned and added. They are made large to portray an immature puppy and match the large head. Fine details are carved into the dog's face. Faux Western-style leather design is incised onto the purse exterior.
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The face is embellished with the addition of delicate features to give the puppy personality and interest.
- All construction detail work is completed with the addition of a leather collar in clay. The piece is allowed to dry thoroughly before its first kiln firing to cone 06.
- Underglazing is applied to bring out the vintage Western-style leather tooling design on the body, handle and tail..
- The work is now ready for its second firing to cone 5/6.
- Luster firing is done to cone 017 and 018.
- Cold finishes begin with the addition of cubic zirconium to the dog's collar.
- Cold finishes are applied to complete the work.
- Crushed turquoise inlay forms the purse's buckle.
DETAILED VIEWS *
