Marissa Scott
New York

Hand-built White Stoneware, Hand-painted with Colored Slip, Clear Glaze
Functional
9"w x 6"d x 4.25"h

About the Teapot
Cakes are among the most beautiful things in existence. They are among the few things that even those who are too humble to call themselves artists will still take creative control of. What flavor should it be? What kind of frosting? What color? What decorations? Even at commercial bakeries, we make these decisions; in doing so, we craft physical manifestations of our love for one another. Perhaps this is why cutting a cake always seems to hurt a little. Luckily, with this one, you don’t have to. There is even a spot in the lid for a birthday candle.

Artist Statement
In Marcel Proust's 1913 novel Swann's Way, the narrator is transported back in time by the taste of a madeleine cookie dipped in hot tea—42 years before McDonald's served its first French fry. Now, thanks to the wonders of mass production and mass media, our memories of sensory experiences are nearly identical. These memories unify us but are only made possible by cheap consumerism and a throwaway extractive culture. Still, they belong to us and remind us that the most tactile artifacts of our memories are also often the most disposable: our birthday cakes, our favorite t-shirts, the packaging of our favorite treats, et cetera. Clay makes these objects both permanent and singular, which is, of course, the way we experienced them in the first place.
I hand-build each piece from white stoneware and hand-paint them with colored slip. They are then finished with a thin layer of clear glaze.

*Teapots that are sold must remain on display in the gallery as part of the exhibit until the show closes on September 10, 2020.  After the show closes, teapots will be carefully packed and shipped by September 26 or available for pick-up at the gallery.