The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 50 no 1 April 2011

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The Enigma of the Humble
Teapot
June Cummings reports on Fusions Teapot Competition Exhibition
More than 30 ceramic and glass artists from around
Australia entered works in the 2010 Fusions Teapot
Competition Exhibit ion. It was hosted and curated by
Fusions (Australian Network of Clay and Glass Artists) and
held at Gallery Nona, Brisbane Institute of Arts Centre, from
28 October to 10 November.
Carol Forster. Shell We Have Tea? 2010
porcelain, raku, slab and slipcast. unglazed
h.2Scm, w.24cm. d.6cm; photo: Dianne Peach
The scope of works in the two sections of the competition
(functional and non-functional) covered a plethora of
styles - modernist, traditional, ethnic, frivolous, conceptual,
hybrids and the political - along with a variety of glazing
and construction techniques. Teapots are steeped in cultural
traditions from Japanese and Chinese ceremonial derivatives
to being at the centre of social , family and daily dietary
experiences of far-flung British colonies. Conceptually,
because of their many appendages, teapots lend themselves
to many interpretations - Alice in Wonderland, humanoid, animal and many more - hence they are a
great vehicle for artistic ceramics and glass expression.
National award-winning ceramicist Dianne Peach judged the Teapot Competition Exhibition. Of the
non-functional exhibits, Brisbane's Steven Roberts drew inspiration from stone quarries for his flat,
craggy surfaced, layered clay, white glazed, solid Landscape teapot.
Kim Aitken's enigmatic bird teapot, Cordia Ii Tea , was a combination of white porcelain clay slip
construction decorated with random decal stripes, embedded with twisted metal table forks.
Sam Keane's long cylindrical rolled clay teapot, Celebration of Ufe, was decorated in a Harlequin
theme, with incising and painted underglazes, and a high-fired, clear glaze, stoneware finish.
Jo Dickson-Undercliffe and Neville Undercliffe have been influenced by early Tibetan teapots in their
work, which they have named Ichari teapots. Their unglazed earthenware teapots are decorated with
white slip, stamped lettering and humped lid with knob.
On a political note, Emma McGregor's grey glazed military tank rolling into battle with its gun turret
spout, cast a realistic shadow.
The winner of the non-functional section was Carol Forster from the Sunshine Coast, whose entry
Shall We Have Tea was influenced by the besser block breeze wall found in Queensland holiday homes
and repository for all those 'found' treasures. Forster has replicated a breeze wall, or shadow box in
miniature, from combed unglazed raku clay. In stark contrast, she fashioned tiny, superbly delicate and
66 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRil 2011