• Hand-built teapot of self-made porcelain paperclay. Jeans of press mold form for the body of the vessel. Thrown spout and sculpted cowboy boot with spur for the lid. Stirrup and handkerchief added.
• Construction sequence: Air-brushed blue coloration to jeans section. Initially fired to cone 06. Underglazes added to create faux leopard, checkered kerchief and tie belt. Refired to cone 5/6. Opalescent overglazes applied. Fired again to cone 017. Gold luster added. Further firing to cone 018. Red China paints applied. Regular oven firing at 325 degrees F. Other coloration with stains and colored pencils to complete the piece.
• Size: 13.5" x 10.5" x 5.5".
• Date: 2007.
• Displayed at Goldesberry Gallery, Houston, TX.
• Sold.

     Enlarged Views

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Creative Process

• The unique design for this ceramic teapot was based on a theme I had employed twice before, first as Daisy Duke's Hot Tea Pants and subsequenlty on commission as Daisy Duke's Hot Tea Jeans.
• The proposed cast of an actual pair of jeans was difficult because both my jeans and my daughter's were too large for what I envisioned. I eventually found a tiny pair of baby jeans for sale that were perfect for my needs. I cut them in half, resewed the hems and cinched the waist.
• A press mold was made of tehse tiny jeans for the teapot vessel. A thrown spout was attached. I met the challenge of mkaing the piece unique by creating a cowboy boot, adorned with a spur, for the lid and a stirrup attached to the vessel's body.
• A template, made of manila paper from a preliminary sketch, was used to create the sculpted clay boot for the lid. Thereafter, the spout "called" for design changes to match the boot, so appropriate embellishments were added. In addition, the teapot's handles were created in the form of suspenders. A pocket kerchief was added as well.

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Detailed Views