Library exhibit features figurative teapots

by Camille Delany

An oversized wooden key juts from the ace of hearts; a red bandaid struggles to contain blood spilling over orange glaze; a cheerful dolphin’s head peers from beneath a knobbled purple, red, and green lid topped by a serene yellow duck. All these surreal characters and more sprout from a single teapot, the work of Li Jacobson, on display in the li brary.

show on exhibit through Apr. 2 in the library display cases to the left of the main en trance.

pieces are from Car ly Slade’s Fall 2023 low-fire class. A few pieces were produced for Portfolio BFA and high fire classes. They all vary widely in design and functionality.

“For this teapot I wanted to include a lot of sculpture aspects. I looked into abstract surrealism, and I wanted to include a bunch of ally disorienting,” Jacobson said. “I just had a lot of fun playing around with shapes and different glazes and colors, because in low-fire we can actually play with colorful glazes, so I just really wanted to delve into that.”

Riley Coyote’s teapot is a fully-functional vessel that she made to trade with a friend for a hand-knit -

“My piece is soda and salt glazed, which left a greenish residue,” Coyote said. “The piece was all raw clay, and it was entirely glazed by the interior of the kiln.”

Working on the teapot gave Coyote a chance to expand her artistic practice and try new meth -

“I left it unglazed and we fired it in the soda kiln, which is an atmospheric firing method that I’m interested in,” Coyote said.

Chayslin Johnson’s piece, “The Pot-tea,” is a playful homage to childhood and potty humor.

“Ceramics for me is a medium to just be goofy and silly and have fun, and that was definitely the main focus of this, just to play on a lot of different kinds of humor,” Johnson said.

“Ceramics for me is about connecting with my inner child and healing my inner child,” Johnson said.

“I’ve been pursuing a career working with children in school psychology,” Johnson said. “I think as adults we don’t get to play and be silly enough, and I think that hinders our ability to be creative and to problem

“I didn’t want it to be a teapot that looks like a toilet; it’s a toilet and you drink tea out -