THE ITEM
This magnificent and sculptural work of contemporary design is the work of British studio ceramist Steve Woodhead.
True to his style, this piece is hand-built as well as hand-thrown. There is highly skilled detail all over, particularly featured in the careful construct of the 'bamboo handle' for which this design is known by. The glaze decor is a glossy colour palette composed of a striated blending, with rich and varied tones of blue, translucent coffee browns and powdered oxblood red.
This piece additionally features Kintsugi golden seams following careful repairing and highlighting. The Kintsugi technique is modern and has been applied in a tactile manner, a gentle compliment to the colourful glaze. The highly technical studio crafting combined with the Kintsugi work makes this piece uniquely one of a kind.
Included with this piece is the book 'The Teapot Book' authored by Woodhead.
CONDITION
Excellent. This piece has been carefully repaired using a robust water-resistant and durable resin. There is natural wear that underside of the base that is commensurable with the age of the piece. Please refer to photos as they form part of the condition report. The base is impressed with Steve Woodhead's 'sw'' mark.
MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 7.3" / 18.5 cm tall x Length c. 3.1" / 18.8 cm (spout to handle). Width: c. 4.7" / 12 cm. Base diameter c. " / 6.6 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 0.6 kg / 605 g. Book: c. 1.2 kg / 1,190 g
NOTES
Ceramic will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured. Shipping will be combined for multiple items.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Steve Woodhead has been potting since 1980. setting up his workshop after moving to Rugby, UK from Scarborough in 1987. Woodhead enriched his experience exploring various bodies and glazes and became a fellow of the Craft Potters Association in 1993. He developed his own style in 1995, focusing on brightly coloured work in highly original and sometimes eccentric forms.
Woodhead's work is hand-thrown and hand-built, using surface texture to affect the often multi-layered glazes. The colours of his pieces become deeper and more saturated in the lows and thinner on the highs. He biscuit fires his work in an electric kiln and the reduction firing is in a gas kiln at 1,275 to 1,300°C.
Kintsugi is a Japanese philosophy with similarities to the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which includes ideas surrounding the embracing of the flawed or imperfect. The art of Kintsugi ("golden joinery") is the repairing of broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The aesthetics of this philosophy values breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.