Every day since May 1, 2009, Rose Pearson has been taking a photograph of a small child’s silver teapot that she and her husband purchased at an auction. This year-long project is being shown at Muskoka Arts & Crafts’ Chapel Gallery beginning on July 31.  

“In our house, every day we eat, we read, we brush our teeth and we take a teapot picture. The teapot has simply become a familiar member of the family, like the cats,” says Rose who grew up near Lakefield, Ontario, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Windsor.  

After taking each photograph, Rose would make a sketch recording the date and any other information that she wanted to remember from that day. From these sketches, Rose created a series of paintings that included collage elements using decorative papers, maps, text and handwritten music by her great grandfather.  

“When I describe this project to people, many immediately respond that it is like the gnome that travels around the world,” says Rose who formally resigned from teaching in 2009 to become a full-time artist. “I guess there is a similarity but my teapot rarely leaves the country. This teapot story is not exotic, suspenseful or dramatic. This show is about the small, the domestic, the ordinary and the familial – their beauty and their importance.”  

The choice of a child’s toy teapot was happenstance. “My husband and I happened upon an auction. Neither of us had ever been to one before and we were swept up in the excitement of auction fever when my husband, unexpectedly, stuck up his hand and bid on a silver tea service,” recalls Rose who is a mother of two young boys.  

The photographs, which now number more than 365, have become a wealth of references for Rose’s paintings. Some photographs became the sole image for 3’x4’ paintings while others formed the basis for 30”x40” monthly pieces that are a composite of all the images taken during a month. Rose, who is interested in the decorative arts, especially sewing and knitting, used sewing patterns and created text out of yarn which was collaged into the paintings.  

This year-long project had its ups and downs for Rose. “I would wake in the middle of the night, in a panic, because I had forgotten to take the teapot picture,” admits Rose who enjoyed being committed to a lengthy project and seeing it through to fruition.  

Although Rose has been a practicing artist for years, it wasn’t until her first solo exhibition in 2002 that she considered herself to be an artist. “I am still an emerging artist despite being middle aged,” reveals Rose. “Just finally, this past fall, I made the decision to call myself an artist and I am looking forward to what happens when you work full time as an artist and to discovering that which comes next.  

The Teapot Story opens with an artists’ reception on July 31 between 2pm and 4pm. The exhibition continues until August 21. The Chapel Gallery is located in Bracebridge at 15 King Street and is open during the road reconstruction. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 1pm and 2pm until 5pm. For more information, visit www.muskokaartsandcrafts.com or call 704-645-5501.

Located at 15 King Street in Bracebridge, the gallery is open year-round, Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm. It is closed during the last week of September and the second week of October as well as between Christmas and New Year’s Days. Please check the Calendar of Events for the actual dates. For a map, please follow this link.

Exhibitions are booked one year in advance.  To learn how to apply for a show, please follow this link: Exhibition Application.

The Chapel Gallery was opened in September, 1989. Housed in a reconstruction of the first Presbyterian Church in Bracebridge, the Chapel Gallery hosts exhibitions of art and craft by our members and other local and provincial artists. Exhibitions are selected by the Gallery Committee and change every three to four weeks.