Stars and Stripes Teapot
The decade of the 1960s was one that was marked by uprisings and political change. Protests revolved around civil rights, freedom movements, anti-war, and free love. The artistic output at the time, ranging from music to glass, responded to these world events.
In the first installment of Junior Curator Academy, our hosts David and Sophie explore Richard Marquis: Keepers, a late-career survey of a towering figure in the Studio Glass movement who was influenced by the movements of the '60s. David and Sophie have a tea party and talk with Jabari about Marquis's Stars and Stripes Teapot.
Junior Curator Assignment
TEAPOT CASE TEXT LABEL
In this episode Jabari deconstructed the history and symbolism he saw in Richard Marquis’s teapots. Now it’s your turn!
Write your own text label for the teapot case and tell us what your thoughts are on the teapots, including Stars and Stripes Teapot and Silhouettes and Stripes Teapot. Remember all the angles we looked at and use them to decipher your own opinion. Just a few rules – no bad words, no copying, use your own language, imagination, and have fun!
Email your completed assignment to juniorcurator@museumofglass.org and you will receive a sticker from Museum of Glass to work on achieving Junior Curator status! We’ll post your labels in an upcoming virtual gallery for all to see.
Key Terms
Parents and teachers are urged to use this glossary in conjunction with the episode, Stars and Stripes Teapot, to impart lessons that follow Washington State education standards. Watch and listen with your Junior Curator scholar and help them to identify these words during the show.
Additional Activities and Art Projects
Earn a sticker for each project you complete and work on achieving Junior Curator Status!
PLAY-DOH MURRINE
Murrine, or pieces of glass made with an image or pattern going through them, is an element that repeatedly shows up in Marquis's work. He arranges these pieces of glass to create incredibly complex patterns and textures. This activity will help you understand the process of creating murrine and how Marquis incorporates them into his work.
LIFE RIGHT NOW: COMMUNITY PAINTING
Marquis transformed his feelings and opinions around the Vietnam War and social injustices of the 1960s into artwork he could share with the world. Let us explore some ways we can express our feelings through artwork.
MARQUIS COLLAGE
We can replicate Marquis's art of assemblage to create a 2D collage out of bright colored paper and magazine images. Your collage story can be an idea based in reality or a fantasy full of fun and whimsy.
BREATHING STARS AND STRIPES
The artist made art that was in line with the protests of the '60s. In today's climate, the object that is ubiquitously used throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is the respiratory mask. Much like how Marquis took a functional object, a teapot, and made it nonfunctional, using its design to reference protest, this project will do the same with the respiratory mask.