Nov 22, 2002 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – The “Mad Potter’s Tea Party” will feature an afternoon of fun and finger food amidst Lewis Carroll figures, readings and film clips at the 64 Crayons Cultural Center on the top floor of the Thompson House, 815 Water St. in Brownsville. Judith Hopson and Jennifer Adamson will serve tea from their pottery creations from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday to kick off a highly imaginative exhibit of pottery, paintings, prints and drawings by “Judy and Friends.”

The tea party only lasts a few hours, but the show runs through Saturday, Dec. 21.

“A real ‘high tea’ wouldn’t start until 4 p.m.,” Hopson pointed out, “but a pair of mad potters can’t be expected to follow all the rules. We’ll have lots of little sandwiches and cakes and other cold finger foods to go with our favorite types of tea for our guests to sample. And they’re welcome to bring their own teas, too.”

Guests will be invited to read selections from the works of Lewis Carroll. “I plan to read ‘Jabberwocky,’ and I know other people plan to do other poems and stories,” Hopson said.

“Everybody knows about Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, but there’s one great stuff in The Hunting of the Snark and Sylvie and Bruno you just don’t hear read very often. We hope to try some of those pieces, too.”

Selected clips from Czech director and animator, Jan Svankmajer’s dark film, Alice, will also be shown throughout the afternoon. A combination of live actors and animated figures, this underground classic presents Alice’s adventures in an Eastern European setting.

“A good ‘high tea’ consists of four elements,” Hopson said. “It calls for a nice setting like the 64 Crayons Ballroom with all those comfortable chairs and sofas in the one section and the serving tables in what Dr. Lapisardi calls his ‘bistro section’ where the food and tea services allow people an opportunity to select from a nice range of little sandwiches and cakes. Soft music adds to the setting.”

She also spoke about the importance of the serving pieces, which will be the tea pots, creamers, sugar bowls, cups and dishes used at the party, the selection of teas and the ritual of ‘steeping’ the drinks properly.

“This takes time, and it varies according to the types of teas we serve. Richer teas like Earl Gray or the most common Orange Pekoes don’t take as long as the herbals or the green teas,” Hopson said.

But, as Hopson’s business manager, Bill Faust, pointed out, the Mad Potter’s Tea Party, though great fun, serves mostly to introduce the exhibit, “Judy and Friends.”

Faust said that “fun is a part of life, and so it’s part of what Judy’s art is about. Her art springs from her life.

“It’s often fun, but there’s so much more to it,” he added. “She’s a committed artist, and she’s serious about what she does. Art is Judy’s life. Everything she does contains a little piece of her.”

For more information contact 64 Crayons Cultural Center by telephone at 724-785-7931 or by e-mail at Geezersbks@worldnet.att.net.