Alchemy of tea – ceramic artwork

Description

Oh the ritual magic that is tea drinking, don’t you think?

The words on this framed ceramic artwork read, “the alchemy of brown tea mixed with steaming water”. The words are from a poem by Chris that Michaela loves – it reflects on the simplicity of tea.

Do you have favourite cups at your house, depending what time of day it is and what your mood is and what the drink will be…? We  do here – and each mug tells a story, whose was it, who made it, where did we buy it and how was it made..?

The tea we drink is tea leaves, which, in our opinion, make the best tea – and this spring, we will gather some of our home grown tea leaves! How special is that? We were told some time ago that we live in temperate forest climate and that wherever camelia plants grow, so will tea, which is part of the same family. Last year, our first picking we dried wrongly and got a lovely few pots of green tea by mistake!

This stoneware clay artwork is 18cm square, framed.

How we made this ceramic picture

Words and images are etched into the clay using stamps and tools for drawing in the clay. It is then fired to 1000 degrees, with colour added after this first firing. it is then fired again to 1240 degrees, a much longer firing.

We love adding the detail to the pots on pots! The colour on these pots was added using a tiny brush dipped in underglaze, then a layer of transparent glaze added to give the pots a shine..

A good gift to share with a tea lover or to display in your own kitchen.