THE INNSMOUTH TEA SET
“Do you want a cup of tea?”
It would be impolite to refuse, of course, so you say yes. It is dark and shadowy, and the space where it- they? How can you give it a gender when you don’t know what it is?- moves is most forbidding. It’s probably a good thing that you can’t see much. In the background you can hear the soft shushing of the surf, repetitious and soothing.
“Milk? Sugar?”
It’s politeness is disturbing in its normality, catching you off-guard. The tea set itself seems like something that has grown out of the sea, sinuous copper tendrils winding around everything.
While your mind originally rebelled against the strangenesses of the scene, they are beginning to clamour at the edges of your consciousness. Something is wrong here, and it is to do with the creature in the corner. As hard as you try, all you can comprehend is amusement, and an impression of tentacles. If you’re not mistaken, there’s one holding out your teacup…
This tea set was part of my final project for university, and is inspired by mythological creatures and sea life. one of the most famous of monsters is the Kraken, and to me it embodies the alien, otherworldly look some sea creatures have in our lives.
Being a lover of fantasy I had to link this to Lovecraft, one of the greatest writers of sea monsters, with a few nods to his Chthulhu mythos.
This set incorporates many techniques, including spinning, forging, chasing and hand engraving. It is made of a mixture of copper, gilding metal and sterling silver.
