ScreamingTea in the New Year!

With the widespread use of the Brown Betty teapot, came the new rituals of tea preparation. 

Brown Bettyish #1 - Block relief carving, inked for inspection prior to proofing, with black Ranger ink.

 The kettle would be filled with about four cups of water - just a little more than was needed to brew the pot.  The water would come to a full boil, as indicated by the powerful scream of the whistle, and half to three-quarters of a cup would be poured into the teapot to prepare it for the brew.  The hot initiating water was thoroughly swooshed , then discarded.  Next, three teabags were unwrapped and bag-only was lowered into the bowl-portion of the teapot; the cords, with tags, were wound around the handle to secure them and prevent them from plunging into the brew. 

Teapot #1 - From bottom to top, initial pencil sketch, resketched with India black ink and highlighted with white China marker.  Next, the carved Speedball relief block, inked and on the top the soft (6B) graphite transfer sheet used.

Once secure, the boiling water (which had been returned to the fire while the teapot cured,) was gently poured into the pot, and the covered quickly placed on top to trap the steam. 

Teapot #1 - Relief proof print #1 using Daniel Smith relief ink on 300 series Strathmore printmaker paper.

In four to five minutes, a small portion of the brew was poured into a heated cup for testing.  If it passed the "strong enough" test, the entire cup could be poured.  If it did not pass the test, this initial pour was discarded and the wait continued.

Hopefully you are not waiting for the celebration of 2016 to begin.........
 

Happy New Year's Eve!