High Tea
Zhalet B.
Ceramic
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I aimed to represent the way women, especially mothers, pour their lives, love, and energy into other people and places. The teapot represents the mother or the woman, with two extra spouts that demonstrate how women give beyond their capacity. The cups represent aspects of life women are expected to fulfill: nurturing children (the fetus), their own passions (the heart), the pursuit of knowledge (the brain). The cracked surface of the plate further symbolizes outworn domestic obligations and pressure that women ’drown’ in. I used blue detailing on white ceramic to emulate the traditional style of delftware pottery and to comment on the antiquated expectations that women must be dainty, proper, and engage only in superfluous activities dictated by men. Collectively, this tea set juxtaposes traditional pottery styles and the traditional roles of women with the unconventionality of the teapot and the contemporary realities of womanhood and motherhood today.
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To me, creativity is the unconditional ability to express oneself and to translate one’s experience and perspective through art. It the freedom and power to communicate oneself to others, unbound by the limits of language and time.
