The Tea Bowl Company

A great place to stay, with art, in Bath

Gary Wood — Fri, 30 May 2014 12:46:22 +0000

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The Clay Narratives Project

Gary Wood — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 14:26:57 +0000

Apart from making and selling pots I also teach pottery to people of all ages and abilities. I love teaching and particularly enjoy working with young children and people with special educational needs. I recently had the pleasure of being invited to collaborate with Nicola Theobald, an educational consultant and former primary head teacher, on a project called Clay Narratives. My role in this was to lead a series of hands-on clay workshops with teachers and carers from nurseries and other early years settings, in order to enable these people to learn a variety of pottery making techniques and skills which they could take back and use in their various work places, as a means to improve the language and communication skills of the children in their care. There were many positive outcomes as a result of this, and a visit Nicola and I made to one particular nursery is worth mentioning here. We visited Wendy Marsh and the children at Parkside Children’s Centre in Bath. Wendy had been one of the participants in the project. I took some clay, clay boards and simple tools with me. The children were all involved in various different activities, moving between tables, interacting with different materials. I noticed a four-year-old girl called Ida sitting on her own looking quite shy and isolated. I approached her and asked if she would like some clay to play with. Her initial response was to say nothing in reply to my question and she made no eye contact with me, her face down, looking at an empty table. I left her alone for a few minutes and then returned, sat next to her and started slowly forming some thumb pots out of clay. I placed several of these near her and began to notice her starting to pay attention to what I was doing. I had with me some simple wooden stamps and I began to decorate some of the small clay bowls by pressing the stamps into the surface of the clay to form a pattern. At this point it was clear I had Ida’s full attention, although no words had been exchanged between us. I asked Ida if she would like to make some patterns on the remaining pots, like I had done and she said “yes”. She engaged with the tools and the clay and at one point stood up to put a pattern around the rim of one of the bowls, sat down again, looked me in the eyes and said : “Standing up is a bit higher than sitting down isn’t it?” After this it was as if a verbal tap had been turned on and Ida went on to tell me all about her family and friends, pets, favourite foods, likes and dislikes, while continuing very confidently to decorate a collection of eight or nine pots. The transformation in this child, within quite a short space of time, was extraordinary; an affirmation that the purpose of this project had succeeded. I told Ida that she could keep the pots that we had made together. Wendy and Nicola had witnessed this. Wendy was amazed and said she had never seen Ida so animated and talkative.

bathmums.co.uk/.webloc

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Love Food Festival in Bath. Sunday 2Oth October

Gary Wood — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 16:39:43 +0000

The Tea Bowl Company will be at The Love Food Festival at Green Park Station in Bath on Sunday 2oth October between 10.30 and 4pm selling tea bowls and other pots including vases and large bowls. A visual, mouth-watering feast!

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Interview with Gary Wood

Roger Jones — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 19:43:11 +0000

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What is a tea bowl?

Gary Wood — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 11:14:30 +0000

A tea bowl is a hand made clay vessel traditionally used for drinking tea, coffee or other beverages. This type of pot originated in the orient, and in Japan has associations with the tea ceremony. Many potters in the west have been inspired to make tea bowls. Using a tea bowl is more intimate than using a cup or a mug with a handle, as the pot is held directly in the hands when in use, giving the drinker a more friendly, tactile experience.

Apart from its function as a drinking vessel, an important quality a good tea bowl should have is a contemplative presence: the capability of engaging the mind and imagination of the user, through the aesthetic, intrinsic uniqueness of its form, depth of colour and surface texture. When these elements are all present, the tea bowl has the same power as any inspiring work of art, to move the spirit, cause empathy and sometimes a feeling of consolation.

My tea bowls are unique because I have developed their forms and surfaces over many years of practice. Unlike many other tea bowls with smooth sides which are then decorated with glaze or into which an incised, impressed or painted pattern is applied before glazing, my tea bowls are carved at the turning stage, to create dramatic ridges and ledges which the overlying glaze gathers on, and which provide an ergonomic, tactile feel for the hand. I use layers of different glazes to build up texture, depth and colour in a gestural, painterly way. The result, when it works well, is more than just a pot: it is a unique sensory experience.

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The Grumpy Badger Cafe

admin — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:09:18 +0000

Tea bowls are now on Sale at The Grumpy Badger Cafe in Bradford on Avon, where customers can sample their tea or coffee from a tea bowl of their choice.

Please call 01225 858888 or email gary@theteabowlcompany.co.uk

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