Meryl Ruth
Maine

Teapot: Thread
Hummingbird: Needle-felted Merino Wool
Non-functional
8.5"w x 4"d x 9"h

This teapot is created entirely from thread except for the hummingbird, which is needle-felted merino wool. To create the teapot, I machine embroidered various patterns of birds, ferns, and leaves in multi-colored threads on water-soluble stabilizer. I wet the stabilizer and wrapped a ceramic teapot with the various embroidered items. I applied a coating of fabric sculpting medium. When dry, I removed the ceramic teapot completely. What remained was a delicate hollow thread teapot! Atop the teapot lid, I placed a hummingbird which I needle-felted with embroidered wings.

Meryl Ruth has gained international recognition for creating high-quality, intricately detailed, imaginative ceramic and fiber art. She is most known for her ceramic and fiber teapots, sometimes combining these two media in her award-winning work.
Her works have been displayed widely in museums, invitational and competitive juried exhibitions, and gallery collections. They are sought after for purchase by focused collectors in the art world from close to her home base in Maine to faraway places like Hong Kong, England, Germany, and Australia. She has created an extensive personal oeuvre of ceramic and fiber artworks and achieved academic stature as a teacher and mentor for novice and advanced artists.
Meryl has a beautiful studio in southern Maine situated on a small lake. She is known for her broad array of techniques, blended for harmony and contrast, to create unique and expressive fine art crafts.
When Meryl is not in her studio, she spends time with her children and grandchildren, doing yoga, kayaking on the lake, and cultivating orchids. She has two small Chihuahuas, one of whom is a certified therapy dog and accompanies Meryl to hospice where she has volunteered weekly for the past seven years.

*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.