Ban Wa Renaissance

Awesome work!

This is the piece that resulted from my Wooden Teapot Follow-along project. I created it for a teapot exhibition being held at a local gallery in November and December. Here is the statement that I provided with my submission:

"Teapots are functional art. While they are traditionally crafted from ceramic, they can also be fashioned from a variety of materials, including glass, metal, and even wood. I am a wood sculptor so I made a wooden teapot whose sole purpose is to be aesthetically pleasing.

My teapot, Ban Wa Renaissance, is based on a traditional Chinese form that dates back to the Qing dynasty. The original teapot would have been made from zisha clay and was fired unglazed. Given my use of an unconventional material (wood), I chose to stray from the traditional finish and instead emulate the crackled crazing effect found in some glazed pottery. I also sought to capture the vibrant colors characteristic of the Western raku process. Lastly, to pay homage to my material, I created windows that reveal the true wooden construction of the teapot. Tradition meets innovation—a Ban Wa Renaissance."

Here are a few additional photos (and one more view is at the very end of the follow-along project):

It’s really beautiful, Michael, and what a project!

Fantastic. A lesson in teapot history and craftsmanship.

The amount of hard work that went in to this is nothing short of unbelievable!! Excellent work and craftsmanship, The colors are very unique, the handles and spout blend in seamlessly and the raw wood is just beautiful.

Tada! The big reveal! It's beautiful. Thank you so much for taking us through your process with this really complex project. It was amazing to watch you apply your problem solving abilities and skill to bring this all to fruition. You have shown an amazing amount of dedication to create this artwork in addition to a huge effort to share the journey with us.

Super impressive work, Michael. The combination of colors with the raw wood peeking through is quite a neat effect.

I love everything about it, but the windows into the wood are just awesome!

These pictures are so much better than on WoW. And it was so much fun to follow along with you. Really great problem solving and brilliant work.

I love it Michael, nicely done!