Cuteware® by Heidi Bekebrede

Winnin Bid: $75 (JE)

In his snazzy, striped shirt, this Yellow Fellow is a dapper dude.  I call some Cuteware® characters the generic "critter" when even I am not sure what kind of a creature it is. This guy looks like a bear until you see that he has a long tail for a handle.  Did you notice his gold lustered belt buckle?  Aww!

Winning Bid: $50 (JL)

Some people are crazy about Halloween!  This highly unusual piece of Cuteware® is made for sipping a witch's brew when the wind says woooooo!

Winning Bid: $50 (LD)

I was looking at a carved, wooden totem pole souvenir when I created this sharp-beaked bird of prey. Carving the handle to look like a feather was one of my favorite parts of the process.  It is one of the largest cups in the 2016 Cuteware® collection.  

Winning Bid: $80 (DN)

This cup runneth over with little frogs and goldfish!  There are five of each going all around this rather large cup.  Notice that each mellow frog is sitting on its own lily pad and the little orange fishes are highlighted in 24k gold luster.  The handle has some pussy willows carved into it to add to the wetlands theme.

Winning Bid: $50 (KW)

My favorite things about this Polka Piggy cup are the widely-spaced teeth....oh and the trotters...and the spiral tail!  People have pig collections. That is a fact.  I've made a few and they are all different with their own personalities.  This one is relaxed and ready for some "mud".

Oh... and mark the first Saturday in March to come to the Davis Farmers Market to make and paint your own piggy bank out of clay. 

Winning Bid: $50 (JL)

To me, the name "Bunny Girl" is a term of endearment used in my family...so to give this cup, that name, says a lot for its endearing qualities. Yes, she has buck teeth, her ears are really quite large and she has whiskers!  All qualities that I could assign to very close friends.  So this bunny girl is humbly submitted to you with her cuteness and flaws for all to see.  The dainty, fluffy tail makes up for everything else.  

Winning Bid: $58 (ST)

It was a challenge to make an open-topped cup look like a turtle because our brains want the shell to arch over.  I got this one to work because of the height of the carefully carved shell/cylinder which allows all of the lower-down, typical turtle parts to be seen as separate from the gaping maw of the vessel.  This is one of my favorites in the 2016 collection...but I want you to have it.  He's got a feather in his tiny hat and I feel that his existence is a feather in my cap!

I get it...some people will see this clown and cringe.  I see him and admire how colorful he is and how well his striped pants turned out.  It doesn't always work, but often my goal is to use every color in the rainbow when I am glazing. That is why I am drawn to making clowns because rainbow outfits and garish, neon hair is part of the look. Hey instead of drinking from this grinning guy, you could keep him full of candy...I promise he won't bite with those grimace-framed chompers when you reach for a sweet treat...Ha Ha Ha Ha.....(Maniacal laughter repeats as if it is in a house of mirrors echo chamber)

This butterfly has a striped belly with buttons on it....gold buttons! Look at those teeny-tiny spiral antennae.  Handmade stamps were used to decorate the wings.  What kind of exotic beverage will you drink from this special cup?  Or will you put a candle in it and turn it into a votive vessel?

Winning Bid: $50 (LD)

What? A black furry beast, standing on its tippy-toes and wearing a bow tie?  Is he headed out on a date?  Is he about to go on stage for a singing performance?  Welcome to my world where super cute critters try their best to make you smile!

I had fun carving in all the hairs on this one and modeling his padded feet.  I really like the way black glaze has a way of thinning on the edge of ceramic and letting a bit of the clay color show through. It is a satisfying contrast that I would call eye-candy.

Winning Bid: $70 (JB)

Bee-hive, B-52, Bouffant....whatever you call it...she has quite the "do".  But thank goodness she decided to "bump it up", because this little lady can hold a lot of coffee.  Thanks to her big hair, she is by far and away the biggest cup in this collection.  Did you notice her gold earrings?

Winning Bid $75 (KP)

I used a lot of colors on this one and also got to use the 24k gold luster in a fun way to dress up this humble bug with oodles of spots. Check out the shot of the inside of this cup and you will see some "magic sprinkles" in the bottom.  In order not to waste the little dregs of glaze that are left in the bottom of the jar, I let the residue dry (instead of rinsing it down the sink) and crack it out.  Then I can easily recycle the jar and I have a steady supply of colorful, dried, glaze bits that can melt into the other applied glaze. Win, win, win! 

Winning Bid $70 (LB)

Behold the Cuteware® Octocup with her requisite number of curly turquoise arms...one of which is the helpful handle.  Her button nose, girlish eyes and her silly grin do not belong on any real octopus...but she's beautifully black as ink so at least she's trying.  Did you notice the lovely drip of gold luster? That was what I call a happy accident!

This Cutie Pie Cup is a perfect example of classic Cuteware® with the pink button nose, the curl of hair, the sweet lips and the oversized, iconic eyes that are instantly recognizable by collectors and fans. Like all Cuteware®, it is also a unique piece, hand made in a spurt of inspiration.

Winning Bid: $70 (JN)

This looks like a wise young owl...bright eyed and ready to help you start you day with your first cuppa.  Like all the cups in this collection, she was thrown on the pottery wheel.  She started as a lump of recycled clay and was coaxed and spun into this bulbous form.  I cut her off the wheel and let her dry a few hours until she was ready for a manicure...(well I did trim her foot.)  Then she was ready to be cute-i-fied and turned into something.  Looking at her form, I decided on an owl.  So I scratched and slipped and stuck on all the bits and bobs that made this owl who she is today.    

Winning Bid $70 (JL)

You may be wondering why I chose to paint this cup blue instead of the more traditional red.  Well, in Davis, California, a Blue Devil is our high school mascot. Over the years I have made several of the glaring blue dudes for graduating Seniors. Some folks have reported to me that the gifts of Cuteware® they have received from loved ones serve as touchstones that remind them of home...I wonder what their dorm mates might think.

Winning Bid: $50 (LG)

This sneaky little squirrel has eaten all of the persimmons and almonds off the trees and has now, thankfully set his sights on the bountiful fall acorn harvest. Have at them Mr. Squirrel; you are welcome to the lot. 

Winning Bid: $65 (LB)

G'day mates!  I'm shouting out to my lovely Australian friends.  I will never forget the very special trip I made to visit the Lyons Family in Melbourne a decade ago. I look at this cup and think of you because it is also colorful and dotty.  

Winning Bid: $50 (LMG)

There is something very fishy about this cup!  Just image the fun you will have daintily holding that tail and sipping a beverage from this little turquoise wonder. You don't have to have a hot beverage you know.  They say white wine goes well with fish.

Winning Bid: $50 (LG)

This mellow monkey was one of the first cups made in this collection. It's his larkspur color and laid-back attitude that make him special...and those toes!   

Winning Bid: $65 (LMc)

This apple cup needed a handle and Willy is a hungry fella with a taste for gold luster....it is a match made in Cuteware® heaven. 

Winning Bid: $100 (JB)

Usually I make the cup shape and then get an inkling of inspiration from something in the shape of the cylindrical form, but for this cup I started by making one of the little flower faces....I was just sort of doodling with a scrap of clay.  Then I looked up and saw the nice big cup all trimmed and ready for action on the ware shelf and ta-da!  I especially had fun with the gold luster on the bee and the handle.

Winning Bid: $65 (FG)

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!  We love our naughty cats don't we?  Do you have a bad cat at your house?  I do.  However this pretty Kitty won't think outside the box or meow to be fed at 5:30AM. But she will be there for you as you sip a hot beverage. That's when you may be heard to be doing the human equivalent of purring.

Winning Bid $50 (KF)

I'm a little teapot short and stout!  Well....really she is a cup that is pretending to be a little teapot. She's so pretty with those plump lips and that leafy decorative motif...let's just let her sing her song and have her delusion. 

Winning Bid: $60 (JN)

Well howdy folks!  I'd be right honored fer you ta even consider findin' a place fer me in y'alls home and heart.  I got ma overalls on and I'm a ready to pitch in and help out around your place.  I reckon we'll git along just dandy!  What'd you reckon?  

Winning Bid: $70 (JN)

Put a bird on it!  Or in this case...make a bird out of it.  Be sure to investigate this bird's fancy feathers and the speckled inside of the cup.  

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple!  I used all of the colors on this one!

Winning Bid: $50 (JW)

I spent many years donating special duck artworks to the "Bucks for Ducks" fundraising auction benefiting the Yolo Basin Foundation...so this duck is dedicated to them.  If you place the winning bid on this cup, you might consider naming them to receive the allocated 10% of the price.  Or you can name any charity you wish. Quack!

Winning Bid: $80 (HG)

Have you heard the buzz about Cuteware®:

It's delectable, respectable and...collectable!

Winning Bid: $80 (RB)

"I'm Sammy the Snake and I must confess, 

I look and I sound just like the letter S" -from a Sesame Street jingle.

This particular Sammy is a rattlesnake festooned with diamonds and gold!

Winning Bid $50 (HBM)

Tom wants to help serve your Thanksgiving feast.  While you are "gobbling" up your meal, he will be graciously and patiently holding the homemade cranberry sauce.  If you take a moment to admire his splendid tail feathers and his pilgrims hat, he will pretend not to notice you sneaking that third sliver of pie.

Winning Bid: $50 (LC)

This is the kind of mouse that you will be happy to discover in your cupboard. It will not nibble on the corners of packages or leave little droppings.  But when you see it, I hope you will smile as you grasp the twisty, pink tail and lift it from the shelf.  Feel its slight heft.  Think about the wonder of life and coincidences that brought this little cup into your hands. The material in this cup used to be part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and was once the dust of stars.  And you thought it was just a cute little mousie cup... it is both...it is all.  And so are you.

Some of the people in my family (and some dear friends) are crazy Giants fans.  Their enthusiasm can't help but rub off on those around them. And since this is an even year (yeah baby!), I went ahead and made these "fan"tastic  cups.  Go Giants!

Take me out to the ball game!

Well, truth be told, you better not let me any where near the ball park if you want the Giants to win.  I have been to 3 or 4 games over the years and each time they lost.  One time I was there in SF and they were way behind. It was freezing cold, so we decided to bail.  As soon as we got to the car and turned on the radio...they rallied and won.  I think I may be a jinx.  I'll just stay at home and eat my peanuts and cracker jack and listen to the game while glazing Cuteware® ! 

Both of the little blue car cups were made in Studio A at the Davis Arts Center.  That's where I teach classes for all ages 4 and up, up, up!

Did you notice the license plate?

It was made with love, in a place I love, sent to you with love.

xoxHeidi

Winning Bid: $50 (ST)

Vroom, Vroom!

This car and its counterpart would be perfect espresso cups. 0 to 60 in 5 sips.  All the little parts are attached by the "scratch it, slip it, stick it" method that you may have heard me sing about.  No?  Well, come to the  Gala Closing event on Monday, October 24, 2016 and you will hear several of my art-related songs. 7-9PM at The Artery.

Winning Bid: $60 (SW)

This pretty little penguin cup is clutching her dinner tightly under her flipper. I'd have to say she is one of my favorites of the collection. I think it is because of her delicate features and satin glaze.  Or maybe I fell in love with the blooming drip of glaze that is blurring the edge of her belly.  Sometimes I hate drips and sometimes I love them. Do you love any drips (human or otherwise)?

Winning Bid: $50 (JW)

This precious, placid pooch was the first cup made in this series of work...but one of the last ones to make it out of the kiln because I wanted the collar fob to be tinged with a touch of 24 karat gold luster. His collar I.D. says it all: Peace! 

Winning Bid: $50 (JE)

When you are drinking out of this Goldilocks cup, your favorite beverage will always be the right temperature.  Not to hot, not to cold, but just right.  But uh oh!  If somehow her magic powers, just described, fail to live up to my claims; do not put her in the microwave!  Because that lovely, gold-highlighting in her hair and capping her tooth, is real, 24K gold and you are not supposed to put metal in the zapper.  

Winning Bid: $50 (HG)

This wee one is the smallest cup in the collection.  To make a tiny cup like this, I do what is called "throwing off the hump."  That means that instead of attaching a small ball of clay to the pottery wheel, I attach a very large piece (hump) and then grab up a small knob of clay to center and "throw".  When I'm satisfied  with the mini-cylinder, I carefully cut it off and grab up another knob to make another.  Sometimes I have thrown as many as 10 or more from one hump.  Roar!

Winning Bid: $50 (JW)

This is one of the most unusual cups in the show.  Obviously the handle was added on, but all of the other elements are only carved.  I gave this royal Elephant golden toe nails. to match the crown.

Winning Bid: $60 (BZ)

Sometimes I get inspired by the work that is created by children in my classes at the Davis Arts Center.  This chicken was inspired by a precious child named Zora, who spent the entire summer hanging out with me.  She made a funny chicken that delighted my sensibilities.  Do you still have an artwork that you made as a child?  Do you remember the feeling you got when you were working on it?  One of my earliest art memories was being told by my kindergarten teacher that I was an artist. At the time, I was drawing a scene with a tee-pee and a campfire. Was it the warmth of her comment or the power of my suggested, crayon flames that lit the fire in me?  I still get warm and fuzzy feelings when I work on art in a quiet, group setting.