Ted Saupe

Ted Saupe is a Modern Architect of the Archaic Vessel. His earthenware and stoneware pots are neither Doric nor Ionic and are certainly not in the vein of Frank Gehry's deconstructionist form, yet they imbue a strong primitive sense of the weathered, raw and ancient. Their energetic roughness harkens back to a prehistoric time of unrefined and utilitarian wheel throwing and hand building, yet with a modern sensibility for raucous graffiti surface decoration. Saupe fires in a salt kiln, meaning that tossing and timing are crucial. Strict attention to time is one of his methods of creating his timeless art. Saupe tells us that the surfaces of his tea bowls and cups are "lighthearted bits of graffiti" but we know that his philosophy runs deeper.

 “I thoroughly enjoy activating the surfaces. I work fast and intuitively. It is controlled un-control. My work is often a reaction to my life--sometimes banal, sometimes unintentionally humorous. I respond to lyrics in songs and bits of conversation I overhear. The pictures and words on my pots are little illustrated poems. Faces, beasts of burden, birds of messages, cooking tools, art tools, buildings and plants are all supportive players in my stories."