Teapots showcased as artwork

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Wood Symphony photo

The “Red Flame Teapot” is porcelain and spalted pashaco hardwood.

Elizabeth Shewan, Staff writer

This month, the Wood Symphony Gallery, based in Los Angeles, California, hosted the online exhibition Hot Tea. The exhibit featured several pieces by Thomas Hubert, professor of Art at Mercyhurst.

The exhibition, which ran until Nov. 15, featured teapots made by 41 different artists in a variety of mediums, including ceramic, wood, fabric, glass, metal, stone and paper.

The Wood Symphony Gallery invited Hubert to be a part of the exhibition based on their past experience with him.

“It’s always interesting to look to see what kind of work we can put up together,” Hubert said.

Claiming to be heavily influenced by animal imagery, Hubert had six teapots in the exhibition. Each teapot exudes the essence of an animal, clearly showing Hubert’s artistic influences.

Each of the six teapots is made largely of ceramic, specifically porcelain, fired at a high heat for a glassy effect. Hubert also used some wood in his creations, which heavily feature images of birds and fish.

“For many years, I’ve been working on different ways to finish the surface of pottery,” said Hubert. “So I have a lot of unique methods … that build up layers of color and design.”

Hot Tea is a yearly exhibition that has only recently switched to an online format. The online format made the work accessible to those not in the Los Angeles area, and also was hugely convenient for the artists.

In an ordinary physical exhibition, the artist would have to ship the artwork to the gallery, an expensive, inconvenient and risky process, only for the item to be shipped again, this time to the buyer after the end of the exhibition.

Having the exhibition online meant that each artist only had to ship the item once, straight to the buyer.

This new online process allowed Hubert to keep the items in his Erie workshop, where they were made, through the end of the exhibition.

Hubert was excited for the opportunity to exhibit his work, which may still be viewed online at woodsymphony.com.

“It’s always important to get your work out so people can see it,” said Hubert.