SOOTHING MOMENTS ARTIST'S UNIQUE TEAPOTS, CUPS STEEP USER IN 'HEALING POWER'.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Staff Writer

WHEN YOU step into Lissi Kaplan's gallery, film clips from ``Age of Innocence'' and ``Sense and Sensibility'' start unreeling in your mind.

It's a respite from reality, where there's a fancy settee for a cup of tea and a freshly baked scone awaiting you.

The Victorian-themed porcelain showroom opened last month in the French Quarter in Woodland Hills, but Kaplan has been working at her craft for years. The interior designer-turned-artist has painted tea sets for former first lady Hillary Clinton and California's first lady, Sharon Davis, as well as Hollywood celebs such as ``The Nanny'' star Fran Drescher.

``I specialize in garden themes, but for Fran I did this leopard print,'' says Kaplan as she points to a display of whimsical spots on a teapot and accessories.

``Fran and my wife are kindred spirits. Their cup is always half-full,'' says husband Richard Kaplan, who adds that both women have had their battles with cancer.

While Lissi Kaplan dealt with the loss of her mother and several friends from cancer, Drescher has survived the disease and inspired others to take action for their own well-being. ``Many times it takes the example of others to truly motivate us, and that's why I'm presenting Fran with a 'Cup of Courage' at a tea party benefit for City of Hope,'' she says.

Teacups, she explains, have a healing power. The right colors and flowers, the shape of the handle and even their little pedestal feet can create a joyful moment for the person in whose hands it rests.

``My tea parties have become a sacred experience. Over a cup of tea a person doesn't just tell me what kind of design they want,'' Lissi says. ``People surrender to me. ... I get to see who that person is and then paint it. For instance, when Sharon Davis said she wanted California poppies painted for gifts to dignitaries, I knew she didn't want a botanical print style so I laid in a field of poppies to get the feeling.''

Each teapot takes her approximately five days to paint as it has to be fired in a kiln after each layer of color. The same with her teacups, tiered cake plates and ornate, footed eggs. Lissi's hand-painted original garden designs start at $125 for a cup and saucer, but reproductions of similar designs, including a specially commissioned floral pattern for the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, are $25 and up.

In addition to doing her porcelain and paintings, Lissi has been busy illustrating and writing a book about the 14th-century art of porcelain painting, ``The Power of the Tea Cup,'' to be published in the fall by HarperCollins.

The Lissi Kaplan gallery is located at 20969 Ventura Blvd., Suite 24, Woodland Hills. For more information, call [phone] or check her Web site at www.lissikaplan.com.

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(1 -- 4) Lissi Kaplan holds a chocolate pot with her design called Violets in Bloom. Above, from left, are teapots Kaplan created for Sharon Davis, her own mother and Hillary Clinton.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer