Susan Thayer

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Susan Thayer (born 17 October 1957 in New York, NY) is an American ceramicist known for her intricately painted porcelain teapots.[1] Inspired by her grandmother's china as well as by historical European ceramics, she often combines traditional elements with other more contemporary designs in her work.[2] In order to maintain a high level of detail, Thayer must often fire each individual piece between ten and twenty times.[1] She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Education and career[edit]

Thayer graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, in 1982 with a BFA in ceramics.[2] After graduation, she remained in Providence and opened a porcelain production studio, though by 1986 she grew discouraged by "the limits imposed by the demands of production."[3] This discontent led her to begin creating one-of-a-kind pieces,[4] drawing on originality rather than the uniformity of mass production. These pieces are often inspired by traditions such as the ceremony and grandeur of a dinner table in all of its propriety: set with dishes on placemats and with multiple spoons, forks, and knives designated for different courses.[3] In addition to serving as an image of tradition, the dinner table—like the teapot—also suggests the notion of people coming together in a ritualistic setting.[5] In conjunction with this classic imagery, her distinctive teapots are also inspired by change, which she perceives as "both desirable and inevitable."[3] That sense of change manifests itself in her teapots as slight alterations of the original form: the perfect spouts start to lengthen or warp, or surface designs are rendered in glow-in-the-dark paint.[3]

Work[edit]

Thayer's work is fluid in nature and intentionally "imperfect."[6] She does not take on commissions, preferring to follow her own ideas.[6]

Thayer's pieces are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum,[1][5] the De Young Museum,[7] the Museum of Contemporary Craft,[8] the Museum of Fine Arts Boston,[9] The Racine Art Museum,[10][11] and in the Newark Museum.[12] Her work was shown in 2003 in "The Artful Teapot" at the George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art and the Long Beach Museum of Art,[6] and in 1993, Feats of Clay V, at Gladding, McBean & Company in Lincoln, California.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Susan Thayer". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b Thayer, Susan. "Bulb Flowers - The Process", Ceramics: Art and Perception, 1996.
  3. ^ a b c d Thayer, Susan. "Reaching to the Past", Ceramics Monthly, April 1994.
  4. ^ Thayer, Susan. "Reaching to the Past", Ceramics Monthly, April 1994
  5. ^ a b "Greenwich House Pottery and SOFA NYC present SUSAN THAYER: 'China Painting - What You Don't See'", Greenwich House Pottery, 2001.
  6. ^ a b c "Susan Thayer – Totally Teapots". The World and I. Vol. 18. January 2003. p. 82 – via EBSCOhost.
  7. ^ "Susan Thayer - Crystal Ball". FAMSF Explore the Art. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Susan Thayer". PNCA Collections. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Teapot: Guarding Eden Teapot". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 17 December 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Variations on a Theme: Teapots from RAM's Collection". Racine Art Museum. 2017. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Magic Mud: Masterworks in Clay from RAM's Collection: February 2 - May 4, 2014", Racine Art Museum. Retrieved on 7 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Susan Thayer". Newark Museum - Collection. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  13. ^ Crane, Carolyn. "Feats of Clay", Ceramics Monthly, April 1993.
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