New project: Sketching my teapots

January 20, 2022 | 10 Comments


You all know that I have a huge teacup collection, but what about teapots???

Well, I have a few of them, but typically I use the same two over and over again. So I rarely sketch them. This week I thought I’d start drinking from the teapots that I don’t use regularly… and that means sketching them, and that leads to a new project!

The first two are a T2 teapot which is part of a tea for one set (Mahabharata Blue) and the other is a cute little travel Chinese teapot which is perfect for multiple infusions of oolong tea. I’m currently drinking Premium Milky Oolong from it.


You might be wondering, what are the two teapots that I use all the time. One of them is my Beehouse pot by Zero covered by a hand-knitted tea cosy. In fact, I own two of these pots – one lived at the office in the old days when I worked as an architect.


I last sketched this pot in January 2020 so I’ll include this sketch again here. The other is a double-wall stainless steel pot that I bought at some stage during the past 18 months. I can’t find a sketch of it, but surely I have one! Both of these posts will be sketched again as part of this project.

 

I think that I have around 15 teapots. Many of these are gifts and some I think are in storage – so I might have to track them down. It is really curious that I so rarely sketch teapots because in many ways they are more interesting in terms of shape than teacups.  But I suppose it’s because on an everyday basis I use the same ones so I don’t notice them as well. The reason for sticking to the same pot is that it’s hard to find a teapot that pours well! So part of this project will be to work out how to pour from each pot to eliminate any drips.

I might also use this project to work through some different tea varieties as well! So today’s teapot sketch is a blue and white Chinese pot that I used for some White Ginger tea. Good for the immune system, hey?

Okay, the teapot project is well and truly underway now. Stay tuned for more random tea trivia! 🙂

10 Comments

  • Great idea, sketching your teapots. I have been making teapots for over 50 years. There are a few ways to make teapots that don’t drip. It has to do with the pouring end of the spout. A sharp edge there will allow that last drop to slide back into the teapot instead of dripping down . There is a whole science to this amount my ceramicist friends..

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi Eileen and thanks for sharing that inside tip on teapot design. 🙂 You would think that all teapot makers knew that. I also find that the spout has to be at the right height so the tea doesn’t flow out of the top. Of course pouring more slowly helps with that.

  • Mary Eastwood says:

    Liz….. I love your Marabharata blue teapot! It’s so beautiful in the blue & green. I will look forward to your sketches of your other teapots. I just received a box of “Gingerbread” tea by Tetley for Christmas. If you have never tried it & if you like ginger tea it is soooo good. It is more gingery than any other ginger tea that I have tried, though it is not loose leaf tea if that is your preference. Thanks for sharing so much info on your blog. I look forward to your posts every week.

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi Mary – yes that is a beautiful teapot but sadly not a great pourer so I don’t use that often. Ah Gingerbread tea sounds nice. I have ginger kibble so I can adjust the amount of ginger in my tea easily 🙂

  • Sydney Brown says:

    Fun! I am looking forward to seeing all these tea pots!

  • Maria Bergman says:

    Hi Liz!
    This is so exciting!
    Really looking forward seeing this new series materialize and your unique rendering of teapot designs and decoration.
    I learn so much just studying your sketches. And you infuse them with so much fun and energy.
    Wish you had more than 15 pots so this could go on indefinitely!

    • Liz Steel says:

      Thanks Maria!!!! I think that I will sketch the same teapot multiple times 🙂 so it will be a longer project than just 15 sketches.

  • Jamie C says:

    Tea pots! I’m excited to watch this new project unfold! Will you be doing one pot multiple times before switching, keeping with your habit of using the same pot multiple times?

    • Liz Steel says:

      Glad you are excited Jamie!!!! 🙂
      As I drink different types of tea during the day (oolong/green in the morning, EGT during the day and then herbal at night) I will be using different teapots throughout and just sketch them whenever I feel like it. So much less structured than the teacup project 🙂

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