- Welcome to North Carolina Weekend,
I'm Deborah Holt Noel.
Teapot collectors from all over the country
are coming to Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor
for the National Teapot Show.
This is no ordinary experience.
Artists vie for the opportunity to submit their work,
and collectors wait patiently to see
what new inspirations have been created.
Collecting Carolina producer Julia Carpenter
takes us along for a preview.
- [Julia] This summer, folks are coming
from all over the country to see this special craft exhibit
with a popular collectors' theme:
the teapot, a vessel for brewing tea,
and the artists' inspiration for the National Teapot Show
here at Cedar Creek Galleries in Creedmoor.
From the fabulous to the fantastic,
from the futuristic to the furry,
the artists' inspiration is boundless,
with over 200 teapots to tempt your collecting imagination.
- I found it fascinating all the different interpretations
of the teapot, so I think I bought one
the first time I came, and I stumbled into it a second time,
and bought another, and next thing I know,
I'm an accidental collector.
- Here at Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor,
we've hosted the National Teapot Show since 1989.
We have artists come from across the United States
and visitors who have come from across the United States
to see these teapots.
About a third of the artists represented in the
National Teapot Show are from North Carolina,
so if you are a collector of North Carolina crafts,
this is an opportunity for you to come see
some of the finest artists from our state.
- [Julia] Visitors to the show are looking
for their favorite artists and discussing this year's
new creative sculpted teapots.
This is affordable art with a large following of collectors.
- The teapots are for sale, but people come to see the show
who just want to admire the array of teapots we have.
We have something they call the Viewer's Choice Award,
where each person who comes to the show gets to vote
on their favorite teapot.
- [Julia] Some teapots are formed on a wheel
and others by hand.
I asked the artists to explain their methods.
- This is a stoneware teapot
that I made using local clay here in North Carolina.
It's made on a wheel, and I used ashes from the fireplace
here at Cedar Creek to glaze the pot with.
- [Julia] The styles vary widely and wildly,
and all must have the basic the basic four components:
a bowl, handle, spout, and lid.
Creativity abounds.
- So this teapot is hand built.
It's made out of two different slabs that are put together
and then paddled and pinched, and then after that,
more slabs are used to roll a spout and a handle,
and then the lid is also hand built.
It is more of solid sculpture that I put on top.
- [Julia] Teapots can be utilitarian,
displayed as sculptures, and even enjoyed as lamps.
- As a potter, I focus on the glaze.
A special effects glaze is here.
This is an iron-rich crystal glaze.
What I like about making lamps is
that you light up the piece, you highlight the pottery.
- [Julia] The teapot was invented in China
over 1,000 years ago, and early teapots
were designed for a single drinker,
with the user drinking tea directly from the spout.
- The National Teapot Show is a curated show.
When we invite the artist, we are inviting people
that do functional as well as sculptural work.
They may have pieces that are based on their body of work
that they already do, or current events,
or about a theme in general.
Some of the things we also look at are the details.
In functional work, we may find things that go back
to a traditional Chinese or Japanese style teapots,
or it could be an ethereal look into the future.
- I like teapots that have distinctive form,
not everybody likes that.
Some people like the form that's been just honed down
to just a beautiful, perfect teapot,
but I like ones that have attitude,
and they're not the traditional form.
- [Julia] Here with teapots fit for a queen,
for North Carolina Weekend's Collecting Carolina series,
I'm Julia Carpenter.
- [Deborah] Teapot collectors, don't miss
the National Teapot Show, exhibiting now
through September 5th at Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor.
Cedar Creek Gallery is at 1150 Fleming Road in Creedmoor,
and you can find
more information by giving the gallery
a call at 919-528-1041
or go to their website,
cedarcreekgallery.com.