I call them Tea-cans. Inspired by petrol and kerosene containers, my forms possess all the attributes of a teapot. There is a spout, a lidded opening, a pouring handle, and a chamber that could hold liquid. Tea-cans have the retro-look of machine fabricated, industrial metal-ware. Despite this, the Tea-can manages to be attractive. This says much about the influences inherit in our industrialized society. Our culture has evolved a unique aesthetic that gives objects, like a Tea-can, a sense of acceptable engineered beauty, balance and design respectability.

The Tea-can construction process is long, challenging and labor intensive. Made of porcelain, some parts are thrown on the potter's wheel, some are hand built from a lump of clay. The graphics are glazed by hand. Logos and graphics are created from intricate hand cut stencils. For each glaze color needed, I create a stencil mask. The aged patina comes from careful application of additional glaze layers. The artwork is raku fired, but sometimes it takes two or even three times to achieve the perfect aged impression.