Steve Loucks
Alabama
White Stoneware
Functional
Teapot: 7"w x 4.25"l x 8"h
Base: 9.75"w x 5.5"l x 3"h
About the Teapot
My utilitarian teapots are elegantly or whimsically designed to perform with ease and delight. Presentation is an important visual concern to give the piece a sculptural presence. Many are glazed with a Shino base glaze and then sprayed with other glazes on top, creating both color and surface variations. Raw wood ashes are sieved on the upper parts, which melt and create the rivulet-like glaze-runs that give the piece an earthy organic look. The goal for my pottery is to elevate its use as an everyday object into a special occasion.
About the Artist
My work is primarily wheel-thrown, altered, embellished, and assembled from several sections. My utilitarian work is made from a white stoneware clay. The glorified vessels are made using various cone 6-10 white stoneware clay bodies. All my work is fired to cone 6 in either an electric oxidation atmosphere, a gas reduction atmosphere, or in an oxidation soda firing. I enjoy layering many glazes to achieve various effects and apply them using several methods depending on the glaze and glaze effect. I have developed all of my own glazes. Glazes that come in contact with foods are food safe. The functional work is microwave and dishwasher safe.
Artist Statement
I love building things and consider myself a fanatical object maker. My ceramic work plays upon traditional pottery forms that transcend function while embracing it. Divided between utilitarian pottery and glorified, functional vessels, both intentions share similar sensibilities and handling of the clay. Information and ideas from one intention feeds the other. My utilitarian pottery is elegantly or whimsically designed to perform with ease and delight to make the everyday occasion a special, pleasurable experience. The glorified vessels are based upon functional vessels but abandon utilitarian concerns for a more sculptural approach to form, surface embellishment, and presentation.
*Teapots that are purchased will remain on display in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition, through September 14, 2026.
After the show closes, teapots will be carefully packed and shipped by September 28, or they may be picked up at the gallery.
About National Teapot Show XIII
Cedar Creek Gallery's National Teapot Show XIII is an invitational event featuring teapots crafted by artists from across North America. More than 200 hand-crafted teapots created using a broad range of materials - including pottery, glass, wood, fiber, and mixed media.
Teapots in the show come in all shapes and sizes! Some are functional - just right for your daily cup of tea, while others are created as sculptural teapots.
Every teapot in the show is available for purchase.
All teapots will remain on display (including those already sold), both online and in the gallery, through September 14, 2026.