NEHMA | Collection

Elizabeth Enyeart (aka Liz Enyeart)

American, b. 1932

Teapot
circa 1979

Porcelain
10 x 6 x 9 in.
Gift of the USU Ceramics Guild
1984.901

This porcelain Teapot and its four accompanying cups have nuances of both contemporary and traditional ceramics. The teapot’s round body and spout are traditionally elegant and functional. The ring-shaped double handle, the center of attention, has a contemporary feel. Though Enyeart isn’t the first to use this handle style, it is especially well engineered for a porcelain piece. More commonly the double-circle handle is made of bamboo. The cups have echoes of traditional Japanese tea bowls, but with a more contemporary widened rim.

Though Liz Enyeart graduated in ceramics from USU, she never attended courses in Logan. She was born in Nebraska and in 1950 attended the University of Nebraska for one year before moving with her new husband to Vernal, Utah. As a child she had wanted to “make pots,” and finally in 1969 she got her chance at USU’s Vernal Extension. Gael Lindstrom, on the art faculty in Logan, traveled to Vernal to teach the program. The Vernal Potters Guild raised money to rent a building for extension ceramics classes and USU provided all the equipment (wheels, and bricks for kilns including raku and salt). Every summer, two-week workshops were taught in Vernal by nationally known ceramic artists, such as Ken Ferguson (see 1960s Bottle), David Shaner (see 1975 Glacier Plate), and Jim McKinnell (see 1950s Bottle). Enyeart received her BFA in 1976.

Billie Sessions, PhD

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