This was the last Teapot I made before my October 29-December 4, 2005 “Reassembled and Upright Ring Teapots” solo exhibition at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vermont.  I wanted a second Teapot to fill the kiln next to “It is Still (And Yet It Moves) Reassembled Ring Teapot.”  I started by making a diamond-cross-section ring in two parts, matching open V profiles, then attached the two Vs together using clay slip and pressure on the inner and outer diameter edges of the two open V rings.  I mounted this ring upright on an oval base, and cut out the top lid opening with an x-acto knife in preparation for adding the handle and spout.  I was thinking of an ornate Viking shield, and was planning to add studs and needle-like sharp points to the inner and outer profile edges of the Upright Ring.  I hadn’t yet decided what I was going to make for the lid finial.  I was doodling around, making the inside tab of the lid which keeps the lid from falling into the teacup when the server tips the Teapot forward to pour tea, and I saw that the inside tab shape was looking sort of like a fish tail.  This gave me the idea to make the lid finial into a leaping fish, coming right through the lid, and only revealing itself when you lift off the lid.   Of course I then had to make the spout into another fish, and I ended up adding three more fish heads and three more fish tails, all modeled after a picture of a Rainbow Trout I found in one of my animal picture books. I left the fish eye sockets recessed, planning to glue rainbow dichroic glass buttons into them after the firing was completed  This Teapot took something like forever to finish, and then a lot longer to glaze!  I ended up using 17 different cone 5 glazes on it. After I painted many different glaze colors on all the fish, I painted hot wax over all the color-glazed fish parts, then dipped the teapot body into our glossy white glaze followed by our pale aqua green glaze to give a watery undersea feeling to the Teapot Ring.  I completed the Teapot after the firing by epoxy-gluing iridescent reflective dichroic glass buttons into the eye sockets I had left hollowed out.  The glistening fish eyes sparkle, change color, and seem to follow you as you move around this Teapot!

16” Tall x 14” Wide x 7” Deep
Cone 5 oxidation Firing
This Teapot was purchased for a private collection in Rancho Cucamonga, California after it was included in the January 13 to March 5, 2006 exhibition, “The Curious Teapot,” held at the Craft Alliance Art Center, St. Louis, Missouri.