Time for Tea

I F YOU THINK ALL TEAPOTS are, as the song says, "short and stout," just simple utilitarian

household items to be

used but not admired, you're in for a surprise.

Artists have long embraced the object, and, more recently, as artists are prone to do, are pushing its boundaries. "Teapots: Object to Subject," an exhibit at the Center for the Arts at The Art League of Bonita Springs, is a perfect example of that. Among its many teapots are some that would look right at home on your kitchen table. Then there are those that look like sculpture, or a fiber purse, or a pile of rocks.

Ray Bub's "Mint Green Sharp Edges Reassembled Ring Teapot" demonstrates the deconstruction of the teapot as we know it. The artist took one of his ring teapots, cut it up into four pieces with a curving saw blade and reassembled it, almost like a three-dimensional version of Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2." You see a base, the curve of a handle, of a spout, the idea of a teapot, but it's entirely reconstructed.

"It's very Cubist," Susan Bridges, executive director of the Art League of Bonita Springs, says about Mr. Bub's teapot. "It has a wonderful feel to it."

Picasso, by Noi Volkov Barbara Frey's "Let's Go Teapot # 21" looks like a pile of stones and pebbles piled on top of smooth oval river rocks. Three small pebbles form the handle, while two small pebbles are the spout.

In her artist's statement, Ms. Frey says that her teapots are composed of "porcelain stones created in homage to the smooth, rounded stones I find on the shores of Lake Ontario. I am interested in creating what might be called an intensified realism."

Although it looks as though it's made from rocks, "When you get closer, you realize it's wheel-thrown vessels and shapes arranged together, glazed and fired," Ms. Bridges says.

Not your grandmother's teapots

"Teapots: Object to Subject" was originated at Craft Alliance in St. Louis, Mo., and is now touring through the U.S. The Center for the Arts at the Art League of Bonita Springs will host the exhibit from June 19 through Aug. 13.

Avian Teapot, by Louis Marak Ms. Bridges booked the show for the center more than a year ago. "When I saw this show, I jumped at it," she says.

Her concern is that when people hear about a teapot exhibit, "They'll say, 'Great, I'll send my grandmother,' or 'I'll send my Aunt Matilda,'" she says. "These aren't your grandmother's teapots. These are truly art… by highly individual, personal artists who have created their own iconography. It's great stuff."

Some of the artists push our idea of what a teapot should be.

"It asks people to think differently," Ms. Bridges says. "It asks people to step outside a little… It's taking an idea and turning it over upside down. You turn it inside out, and after you've looked at every facet of that idea, you then say, 'OK, I'm ready to make this artwork.'

"They've turned it over in their minds, and that shows in these pieces. They thought about teapot, and then not."

Richard Notkin's "Stacked Teapot (Variation # 9), part of the Yixing Series" looks like something from a miniature stage set. Although it's stoneware, it looks more like plastic and consists of two wooden crates stacked one on top of the other. On one end is a concrete block with a tire balancing on it; that's the handle. On the other end, three steel drums balance; that's the spout. On top of the piece is a checkerboard with a Coca-Cola bottle standing in the middle; that's the lid.

Lets Go Teapot #21, by Barbara Frey The piece is marvelous with detail. You can see the grain in the wood, and even tiny nails. The tire has tread, and the concrete block is roughly textured. If you look closely, you can even see the Coca-Cola logo on the bottle.

Just like the checkerboard on top of the piece, this teapot is a study in straight edges and roundness, with the rectangular shapes of the crates and the circular shapes of the tire and drums.

The more she examined "Stacked Teapot" over a couple of days after it arrived at the center, Ms. Bridges says, "The more I was glad.

"It begs you to look at it more closely," she adds. "Those who do, get rewarded, and those who don't, what a loss… It's just there, waiting for you to discover all the little elements of it. I love it. I absolutely love it."

Sea Of Duplicity, by Carriane Hendrickson The artists' cup of tea

The exhibit includes two works by Russian artist Noi Volkov, whose teapots pay homage to famous artists. In the traveling show are "Picasso" and "Venus." The former has a three-dimensional face of Pablo Picasso on one side and one of his Cubist paintings of a woman on the opposite side; a red bull and a three-dimensional Cubist woman and red bull, reminiscent of his "Guernica," sit on the lid.

Volkov's "Venus" teapot is based on Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus." One side of the teapot is a close-up of Venus's face; the other is sand, sea and sky, like the background of the famous painting. The waves and curlicues of Venus' hair form the handle. A clamshell, complete with pearl, forms the handle for the lid.

Carrianne Hendrickson's "Sea of Duplicity," a 2006 piece made of lowfire white clay with a low-fire glaze, looks more like a sculpture than a teapot. A woman in a bathing suit, cap and sunglasses stands in a yellow inner tube that has two faces: one with antlers and the other with sharp, white teeth. The lid is the two polka-dotted beach balls she has tucked under her left arm.

King Penguins Upright, by Ray Bub Richard Swanson's teapots look like zaftig, red clay figures. "My Sister, Myself" shows a nude woman on her stomach, chin in hands, while "Pleasure That Burns" shows a couple making love. The figures are lusciously plump, almost Botero-like in their roundness.

Not-so-everyday varieties

Other teapots look very much like teapots. Adam Posnak created one with a flower on the side, and another bearing skull and crossbones.

Nancy Selvin's terracotta teapots have beauty in their roughness. The artist draws lines and designs on her textured pots with a ceramic pencil. They seem casual, but Ms. Selvin's creations are carefully constructed.

Rollie Younger's "Bridge Tea" looks almost like a coffee urn made out of steel girders and bronze. The bellshaped teapot includes rivets, welding, girders and a huge gauge on top. The outside is dark and very industrial looking, but the inside is a warm, glazed rose color that you wouldn't have guessed.

Stacked Crates, by Richard Notkin In contrast, Kate Anderson's "Mickey Mouse Teapot/Warhol-Haring," made of knotted waxed linen and stainless steel, looks like a purse. On one side is a reproduction of Andy Warhol's silkscreen of Mickey Mouse; on the other side is a reproduction of "Andy Mouse," Keith Haring's portrait of Warhol as Mickey Mouse. On top of the purse is the name "Mickey' in stainless steel, and the handle has four Haring-like figures cut out. The spout is a little cube of stainless steel with no visible hole.

"Making sculptural forms using a basketry technique called knotting opens up questions about content, 'high art' and the blurred edges where art and craft meet," Ms. Anderson writes in her artist's statement. "Teapots are familiar and comfortable icons; I create them as containers to hold images of visual art icons."

"Look at what they've done with teapots," Ms. Bridges says with admiration as she surveys the show. Every day she looks at the teapots, she says, she sees something new to admire.

Bridge Tea, by Rollie Younger "It's a common, everyday thing that you shouldn't just pass by without taking a second look."

.. if you go >>What: "Teapots: Object to Subject" >>When: Opening reception 6-8 p.m. Friday, June 19. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Aug. 13 >>Where: Center for the Arts at the Art League of Bonita Springs, 26100 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs >>Cost: Free >>Information: Call 495-8989