Sculptural Vessels: Teapots with Attitude 9/27 & 9/28

Instructor:  Richard Notkin
Workshop Schedule: Saturday & Sunday, September 27th - 28th, 9am - 5pm

Plus:  Artist Talk, Open to the Public: Saturday, September 27th, 6:30 - 7:30pm

The teapot is the most complex of functional ceramic vessels, composed of a body with a handle, spout, foot and lid with knob.  These variables make it an ideal format for utilizing imagery to create narrative works of art. 

This intensive two-day workshop will focus on each participant's unique perspectives to develop a personal narrative teapot. 

Through individual and group discussions, the instructor will assist each student as they experiment through thumbnail conceptual sketches and clay moquettes, developing multiple approaches to their chosen narrative. 

Throughout the workshop, Richard will demonstrate his many processes, including various small-scale modeling/carving techniques, surface detailing, etc. 

Illustrated lectures will also be presented on:

• The phenomenal teapots of Yixing, China (the birthplace of the teapot, ca. 1500 AD),

• Imagery-laden teapots from 1800’s Europe through contemporary international ceramics, and a

• Technical/process presentation of Notkin’s own development of a teapot series, from conceptual drawings through prototype models, mold-making, casting/altering/assembling a finished teapot, etc. 

This will be a very full two days, packed with activities and much growth.  
A free public lecture on the artist’s work will be held on the evening of Day 1 -- Saturday, September 27th at 6:30 PM.

Students should bring a journal and expect to take many notes. 

Firing of moquettes may be done upon request. 

About the Artist:

Richard Notkin is a master in this genre, having created hundreds of sculptural teapots imbued with social and political commentary during the past five decades.  Richard has worked in clay for over 57 years, and has intensely studied the teapot format, having visited Yixing, China, six times since 1992, documenting the artists and studios, working in Purple Sands Factory #6 for a brief period in 1996.  He is a full-time studio artist living in Vaughn, WA, in the southern Puget Sound, and his art is in over 80 museum collections internationally.  

Richard has received numerous awards, among them grants from The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, United States Artists, and three individual artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Notkin was most recently awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia A. Groot Foundation.  He has taught and lectured at over 350 venues worldwide.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

Alpha Fired Arts reserves the right to cancel classes. If a workshop needs to be canceled, we will contact everyone enrolled and offer the option of transferring to another available time, or receive a refund. If a member wishes to withdraw from a workshop, we need five days notice prior to the first class to receive a full refund. Withdrawals occurring within five days of a workshop, will receive a refund of 50 percent of the total class fee. There are no refunds once the workshop starts.