Flow - Antler Vase #7
- $1,100
- Jeffrey Taylor
Artist Statement
I once visited a friend and was served tea, when I picked up the teapot to refill my cup I found the handle was hot enough to burn me. It had been made hollow and was filled with scalding tea. He soon after received a gift of one of my teapots to replace his. That was the start of the journey to the work exhibited here. You can see the expression in the teapot.
I often contemplate the form and function of handles. Their curves, the way they fit in your hand, whether they assist holding the vessel or make its holding uncomfortable. I have held handles which felt like they would break at the slightest bump, handles that make drinking a full cup of coffee a labour in keeping it from slipping through your grip and tilting sideways and handles with sharp points that would cut you if you were to hold it wrong.
In my work as a production potter, I occasionally used commercially produced bamboo handles on my teapots. They functioned very well, but I never felt comfortable with those handles, that such an essential part of my work, had not come from me nor the materials from the land around my studio.
Most of my life has been lived surrounded by farmland. I see the furrows and disturbing of the earth reflected in the patterns applied to my pottery. When I assessed what materials were native around me, and how to create handles with them.I . Early experiments were with bent caragana, wire and sisal twine. Then a neighbour gave me a box of shed deer antlers and I was hooked. Their curves, colour and strength prompted experiments into how to attach them as handles. Copper wire for attaching came from the renovation of my ninety-year-old studio. The handles on my vessels, and for some of the work the term “handle” is used loosely, take far longer to design and construct than the pots they are attached to.
My initial reaction to what I considered bad form and lack of native materials, and subsequent overreaction in scale and complexity, has resulted in vessels that require thought if they are to be used. The antler tines reside in space that has to be approached carefully in order to grasp them. Filling the vessel requires more effort. Serving tea becomes more thoughtful in respect to the safety and comfort of those being served. There is an uncomfortable imbalance at times between the handle and vessel.
These vessels create a strong reaction. Perhaps they will motivate you to action of your own.