An Ancient Ritual Reimagined in Clay

By Michelle Madden

A breeze moves gently through the wood-beamed studio. A black cast-iron stove breathes out sweet-smelling oak. Olive, the rescue dog, is curled on a frayed armchair. A miniature clay teapot waits for the tea ceremony to begin.

Potters often have objects they lean toward; for Will Talbot of Bell Hill Pottery, it is tea pots and cups. Talbot makes accessories inspired by the ancient Chinese tea ceremony, gongfu cha—a practice centered in mindfulness and discipline. The water is poured into a tiny pot. The first pour, before the tea leaves have fully opened, is sacrificed and poured over a “tea pet”—a small clay object. (Even when something is discarded, there is ritual.) This is followed by 12 to 15 pours into cups before the ceremony concludes. 

Talbot’s cups have an undulating shape and, like the pots, are magnificently imperfect. The colors are often not uniform but blend in a harmonious way. The hand of the artist, though subdued, is foremost. “I sell to tea people,” says Talbot. “They like the faults in the product.”

So why tea? “I was at art school in Portland, Oregon,” Talbot explains, “and there were Chinese gardens with a teahouse and koi. I went after class and drank tea every day for two years.” 

Talbot’s work is his vocation— one into which he pours his soul.—bellhillpottery.com