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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: Jason Harper, jharper@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, bbohn@k-state.edu

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

K-STATE ART STUDENT'S SMALL TEAPOT EARNS PLACE IN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

MANHATTAN -- Jason Harper's little teapots are anything but short and stout. While they do have handles -- of a kind -- and they do have spouts, when you tip them over, you may want to shout because they might not pour as expected.

Although Harper's small teapots could be used at teatime, their true purpose is as art -- very good art. One of the teapots by the Kansas State University senior in fine art was selected for the Third International Small Teapot Competition and Show at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif.

The show celebrates the origin and diversity of the teapot, which is believed to have originated in China. Because the first teapots were small -- they were made for an individual's personal drinking use -- the teapots in the competition can hold no more than 16 ounces. They also had to be made mostly of ceramic materials.

Harper's "Winter Teapot" was one of 116 teapots, made by 86 artists from across the U.S. and around the world, to be accepted for the juried show.

"Winter Teapot" is actually one in a collection of teapots -- nine in all -- Harper made as part of a semester project he recently finished. The teapots have a seasonal theme, such as "Spring Teapot," and are modeled after trees and how they would look at various times in a year.

"Winter Teapot" reflects what most Kansas trees look like in the height of winter: dark and dead. The teapot was made of both white and black clay, with the black clay helping to give the pot its rough, textured tree-bark look, Harper said.

His first efforts at making tree limbs, a distinct feature of "Winter Teapot," ended up looking more like deer antlers, Harper said. To help achieve a more realistic look, the Manhattan resident went out to find sticks to study and incorporated his observations into his design. Those observations included that the ends of tree limbs are rough and uneven, and that limbs have buds on them -- even in winter.

"The handle was one of the hardest things to make. The branches, too, where they would meet because the clay would shrink when it dries," Harper said. "In fact, the handle did break on 'Winter Teapot,' but I thought it looked OK, so I kept it."

The original handle, a tree limb, was to extend across the pot to a broken limb on the other side. The spout of the teapot also looks like a broken limb.

The teapot holds 9 ounces. "It may not pour the best, but it is totally functional. It really isn't intended for use, though," Harper said.

"Winter Teapot" was one of two teapots Harper submitted, by photo entry, to the show. If selected for the show, the artist then had to send the actual teapot.

"I was pretty excited when I found out in December that 'Winter Teapot' had been selected," he said. "There was one problem, though. I had given 'Winter Teapot' to my Dad for Christmas, and the other teapot I had submitted I had given to my Mom for Christmas."

But a tempest over the teapot was avoided, Harper said, as he had given each parent a second teapot for Christmas, too, just in case one of theirs was selected for the show.

"My Dad was pretty understanding about having to give 'Winter Teapot' back," Harper said. "He also works with ceramics and was excited my work had been accepted."

As for his next project, Harper said he would like to do more sculptural ceramics because he enjoys doing highly detailed work. "I enjoy doing teapots, but their form is really a template," he said.

Harper, who is a member of the K-State Potters Guild and president of the Anime and Manga Society, would like to teach ceramics at the collegiate level one day. A 2004 graduate of Manhattan High School, he is the son of Skyler and Kristi Harper, also of Manhattan.

"Winter Teapot" and other teapots selected for the show can be viewed online at: http://gallery.saddleback.edu/shows/25FEB08/virtualshow/