Preview Gallery volunteers honored include (from left) Pat Rosvo, Una Lindh, Lynn Lambert, Carol Perdue, Lois Landreth, Betsy Dillon, Connie Edwards, Diane Makin, Rita Woodruff, Doris Stoker, Carolyn Young, Pat Carriker, Johnnie Whitlow, Margaret Crouse and Jan Bennett. Not pictured at Margaret Aycock and Betsy Bethune.

Teapot Preview Gallery closes for winter season for first time in '08

The preview gallery for the Sparta Teapot Museum at 18 S. Main St. in Sparta recently closed for the winter season for the first time.

The move was made Dec. 21, 2007 both as a cost-saving measure and to help facilitate changing out the display items inside the gallery, which was open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Teapot Museum Interim Program Director Sarah Ross said in an interview last week that Mary Douglas, the curator of the teapot collection owned by Sonny and Gloria Kamm, will be cataloging and moving the items on display at the preview gallery back into the storage area rented by the Kamms at the Blue Ridge Business

Development Center.

While Kamm and the Teapot Museum's Board have opted not to pursue an exclusive agreement for displaying his collection, some items from the collection may still be displayed once the museum is completed. "We still have a dialogue with Mr. Kamm and we continue to discuss the possibility of displaying some of his collection here," Ross said. Teapot Museum Board Chairman John Brady said the board has not reached any agreement with Kamm about displaying the collection either in the preview gallery or in the museum, but the board remains hopeful that an agreement can be reached.

As for the exclusive agreement that earlier had been planned, Ross noted,"The Kamms are not sure that they can make an obligation to what we're doing in Sparta," said Ross.

"We are actively talking with other art collectors," Ross added. Ross commented that the collectors being talked with also collect teapot-themed works in contemporary styles similar to the Kamm collection.

She noted that the California teapot collectors had hoped for a larger museum building, more closely represented by the first drawings of the facility. Those drawings were not chosen to move forward to construction due to cost limitations—the project price tag reached about $14.5 million last year before the board pulled the plug on the large-scale design.

Afterwards, the Teapot Museum Board decided to move forward with a scaled-down model of the museum, which will still house teapots but will not house the Kamm collection exclusively. Brady said the gallery will also likely house arts, crafts and other items that are more conducive to drawing in people to the area, he said. "We still plan to have a wide array of teapots, but we will have other art items as well."

He noted that the new designs for the museum show a total project in the $6 million range, less than half the cost of the original. "We feel like it is smaller, but it is more suited to the area," said Brady. "The less expensive building will be easier to maintain and support over the long haul."

As for the preview gallery, Ross said that it is expected to re-open in the spring and new items will then be selected to display there. "Right now, it is our plan to keep the (preview) location on Main Street as we continue to plan for our larger museum," she said. While a target re-opening date of around Easter is planned, no specific date has been set.

The museum board hosted a party in honor of the preview gallery volunteers on Dec. 18, 2007 that have made the operation of the gallery possible.

 

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