Tea Immersion at Clay Art Center

Clay Art Center Presents: Tea Immersion
Join us for compelling and informative presentations about the culture of tea, the history of teapots and how teapots fit into contemporary life; with Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Gallery, Ulysses Dietz, Senior Curator at Newark Museum and Michael Harney, VP of Harney & Sons Master Tea Blenders, followed by a discussion moderated by Judith Schwartz, Ph. D, Professor of Art & Art Professions at NYU.
Then, in our Gallery featuring our National Invitational Exhibition TeaTime, experience and enjoy teas from around the world poured by Harney & Sons brewer Mike Harney, and watch a tea ceremony performed by students in Keiko Ashida’s Tea Bowl and Ceremony Class.
Our Panelists & Moderator:

Ulysses Grant Dietz, Chief Curator, Decorative Arts Department at The Newark Museum, will do a survey of the teapot both as a functional form and as an artistic chal-lenge in the West over some three centuries, based on examples in the collection of the Newark Museum. From imported Chinese porcelain, designed and made with European consumers in mind, to contemporary studio ceramics which have left function behind and focus on the complex relationship between East and West that the teapot evokes, Ulysses will present a wide range of teapots that will provoke thought and conversation. Just as tea does.
Michael Harney, Vice President and Second Generation Master of Harney & Sons Master Tea Blenders, has been the Tea Taster for Harney & Sons Teas the last 25 years. He has made many trips to Asia to source out the best teas. Penguin Press published his book: Harney & Sons Guide to Tea. Mike will speak about how tea tastes, traditions in various tea lands and how that has influenced tea pots in several countries. Then he will pour teas for us during the post-discussion tea tasting event, and educate us about each tea!
Leslie Ferrin, Author of Teapots Transformed; Exploration of an Object, will present an overview of contemporary ceramic teapots by established and emerging artists who are using the form to reference history, employ new technologies and contextualize within the broader art world.
Our moderator for discussion following these three presentations will be CAC Board Member Judith Schwartz, Ph.D., Professor, New York University, and Head of Sculpture: Craft Media Area. Judith teaches studio-based courses in ceramic sculpture and supervises interdisciplinary research with masters and doctoral students.
Fee: $25 members; $35 non-members FREE for full-time college students with ID.  Register online at www.clayartcenter.org
40 Beech Street
Port Chester, NY 20673
914-937-2047
mail@clayartcenter.org
www.clayartcenter.org

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