TinaGebhart
Fine Functional Pots
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Tina Gebhart ---Artist Statement

The teacup is used and acknowledged; it is used and forgotten. When it's first selected in the morning for a wake-up tea, which may be out of habit, it may be unobserved. After the first few sips, it's noticed (like many times before) and appreciated for the way its handle fits the finger, the way the lip curves into the mouth. As the newspaper page is turned it is again forgotten. It has moments of recognition and times when it's overlooked. It has the makings of a good mate and the fit of a good friend.

I have been working with volume, form, color and rhythm in search of a harmony that could bring beauty and comfort to using a functional pot.A teapot's fatness relates to the human body and can give the user a familiar intimacy. Its volume seems larger than the actual space inside; it can bring generous comfort. The sweeping curves of its form are giving and gentle.A calm and soothing glaze color can put the user more at ease. By relating details of a pottery form to details of something that nourishes and comforts the body, one can bring to the user a sense of nourishment and comfort. My forms reference English porcelain and American diner-wares. The formality of English porcelain brings luxury to the use of these pots. A sense of casual robustness from the diner-ware can give the user the freedom to physically use the pot, not just keep it in the china cabinet. All this is wrapped in an eastern sense of form and compelling line.

Rhythm brings a certain life to the pot for rhythm implies movement, and a functioning pot will move in the life of the user. Recurrence, variation and movement are components of rhythm that shape the way I make and present this work. The forms develop through the repetition of throwing and altering. Variations in form come from combining my attention, body, and curiosity in the making process. Movement in the form's line draws attention to where it shifts, creating a decoration of shadow. These aspects of rhythm are comforting rests and attention points in my work.

Indulgent, frequent use is my aim.