Three Cups of Tea ceramics are made by Elise Johnston and Karen Taylor O’Neill. Each piece of Three Cups of Tea ceramics is unique & durable. It is handmade in our Dunedin home studio. The process begins by making the original shapes in clay. A plaster mold is then taken from these pieces. Each item is slip cast using the plaster molds to replicate the originals and clay pieces are joined, altered and smoothed. The work is fired two or three times during the glazing and decorating stages. The images are drawn from personal experiences, they reflect our love of wild places, and the capricious nature of both ceramics and life. The images are originals which are then printed onto ceramic decals, applied and fired onto the pieces. The name Three Cups of Tea refers to a proverb of the Himalayan Balti people that says “The first time you share tea you are a stranger. The second time you take tea you are an honored guest & the third time you share a cup of tea you become family.” This expresses the importance of taking time to share a cup of tea, and how relationships develop and grow over shared experiences.