
QUEEN OF T-ARTS, A CERAMIC TEAPOT
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This teapot is my imaginative interpretation of the nursery rhyme, Queen of Hearts (see lyrics below). The work has some absurdist elements added, such as Princess Beatrice's infamous hat worn at Kate and WIlliams' recent elaborate royal wedding. Its design has been modified to make it serve as the teapot's lid.
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The queen is represented by a deck of playing cards, silk-screened with images of the Queen of Hearts playing card, both front and back, and hollowed to become the teapot's body.
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The work's name is a wordplay on the playing card, tea, teapot, art (ceramic, of course) and heart and tart ( in all its meanings: the pastry, agreeably sharp and the lady of loose morals).
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Specfically made by invitation for display at Nursery Rhyme art exhibit at Imagine Gallery in Suffolk, UK.
- Finalist at Niche Awards, Philadelphia, PA, 2012.
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Construction sequence:
Third firing to cone 018.
Fourth and final firing to cone 018.
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Date: 2011.
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Size: 15.0 x 14.5" x 6.0".
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Sold to a Maryland collector.
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ENLARGED VIEWS


CREATIVE PROCESS

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Photo silk-screening is then carefully done with layers of underglaze depicting the design and variegated colors of a typical queen of hearts playing card, duplicating both the front and back images.
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The card slabs are built into a vertical box-shape and hollowed to become the body of the teapot.
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Press mold faux tarts with blueberry and strawberry filling, all formed from rubber molds, are made and attached to form the teapot base.
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The teapot's lid is a whimsical replica in clay of the outrageous hat worn by Princess Beatrice at the recent royal wedding of Kate and William. The Christian Science Monitor described the hat as a "massive ring and bow-shaped hat" and cited that it had been compared to a toilet seat or a pretzel. Nonetheless, it sold on eBay for a hefty sum, donated to charity.
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My version modifies the hat to substitute a small "tart" for its central component. The ribbons are " pulled" and shaped to conform to the original design. They are used to build the teapot's lid by slab construction technique.
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It is then added to the lateral aspect of the playing card deck body by score and slip technique.
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- Successfully fired to cone 04 after having been allowed to dry thoroughly.
- This use of higher kiln temperature than usual anticipates the application of glazes that impact more strongly on surfaces that have been exposed at their first firing to greater heat than cone 06.
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- After successfully firing the piece to cone 04, colored underglazes are applied to the fruit tart areas and clear glaze to seal the remaining surfaces.
- The piece is refired to cone 5.
- China paints are used to enhance the coloring of the fruit tarts and mother of pearl luster for all the other surfaces.
- Another finiring done to cone 018.
- Silver and gold lusters are added to selected areas, such as the outline of the whimsical hat and tthe sides of the stack of cards; silver luster is applied to the fruit tart containers.
- Following the final firing to cone 018, gold leaf is added.
- A small amount of decoupage is undertaken using a matching playing card fabric which I found on eBay.. Acrylic paints are also added to those areas for details, to complete the work.
The Queen of Hearts*
The Queen of Hearts
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts
He stole those tarts,
And took them clean away.
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.
*First published in 1782 and popularized by its appearance in Lewis Carroll's
"Alice in Wonderland," 1865.
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