Off White Pot with Lid
Marked: Kira Designs TM © 1984 Kira Fournier G2.
You may see nothing unusual, but here's what I found out:
Kira Fournier (1950-2002), attended Wellesley College, Goddard College, School of the Museum-Fine Arts Boston, Corning School of Glass and received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona. In June of 1980 her article Making a Yunnan Steamer Appeared in Studio Potter Magazine. By the way, You may want to bookmark the Studio Potter. (be sure to check out the galleries of pottery.)
My Next Question . . . What is a Yunnan Steamer? The explanation was found at eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters: A Yunnan Steamer Pot is a covered ceramic dish that has a funnel in its base. When the pot is placed in a steamer, steam travels up the funnel and condenses on the lid's underside and is trapped in the pot.
Kira Fournier was a courageous artist and her personal Battle with Ovarian Cancer Eventually Became the Inspiration for Her Work. I think she stopped making pottery and began working with glass. At the University of Arizona, She Designed Sculptures in Glass of Her Own body to explore the Changes and Medical Procedures Associated with Her Illness. I found an article online about her 2001 exhibit titled Getting Out Alive Her work was featured at Sculpture Fest 2002, 2004. You can see a picture of one of her Sculptures here
In November of 2006, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's Great Issues in Medicine and Global Health Symposium Presented "Core Strength: an Artist's Journey Through Cancer" an Art Exhibit and Reception to Honor the Late Kira Fournier.
While I sit here holding this rather simple pot, I see a Treasure! I imagine the artist creating this utilitarian treasure long before her illness changed her life and art. Most of us will never be able to own a sculpture designed by this well respected artist. I feel honored to be able to pass this treasure on to someone who will use it for it's intended purpose. By doing so, Kira Fournier, the artist continues to live.
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2 comments:
Hi. My wife and I received a steam pot exactly like this one as a gift many, many years ago. We just love it. We use it mainly to steam rice (it's the only way we cook rice), but we also have a copy of Kira's cookbook that came with the steam pot. We also have two more copies of the cookbook for our two grown children.
We're trying to find two more steam pots, but they're hard to find. Are you willing to sell the one shown here? We can be contacted at jcantu --at-- wolfenet --dot-- com
Thank you.
I own two of these pots and us the medium steamer for my rice. Its a real gem. The smaller one is supposed to be used for custards and quiche according to Kira's cook booklet. Her steamers were expensive and by the time I bought mine the plain one depicted in the photo was all that was left of her line.
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