2 Day Gongfu Teaware Workshop

Instructors: Zoë Powell & Mitch Iburg from Studio Alluvium

Date: August 29 & 30th, 10-5pm with a 1hr lunch break

This workshop is intro- level friendly!

In this 2-day workshop, instructors Mitch Iburg and Zoë Powell will guide participants through the process of designing and creating handbuilt forms for Chinese Gongfu-style tea preparation. Discussion will include: a brief history of Gongfu tea preparation, considerations for creating a cohesive set, and techniques for creating dripless spouts. 

During the class, participants can expect to produce a matching tea set including: one gaiwan (brewing vessel), one gong dao bei (fairness cup), one cha ze (tea display tray) and two cha bei (tea cups).

Attendees can either bring their personal tools or purchase a tool kit from the Dusted and Blue shop. A list of recommended tools to bring will be e-mailed to you before the workshop. 

Workshop tuition includes clay and bisque firing of all pieces. For an additional fee, Dusted and Blue can offer to glaze and glaze fire pieces on the attendees' behalf. 

Please select the package below based on what firings you want included.

If traveling from out of town, students can plan to pick up bisque pieces within 4-7 days after the workshop is complete. We will notify participants once pieces are completed. For an extra fee, Dusted and Blue can ship work for those who are traveling. Please email friends@dustedandblue.com to arrange shipping.

Please read our workshop policies before completing purchase

Schedule 

Day 1

10.00   Introduction to forms for Gongfu tea preparation 

10.30   Demo handbuilt gaiwan (Mitch)

11.00   Participant work time 

12.00   Lunch 

1.00     Demo handbuilt gong dao bei (Zoë)

2-5.00  Participant work time 

Day 2

10.00   Demo cha ze (Mitch) and tea cups (Zoë)

11.00   Participant work time 

12.00   Lunch 

1.00     Demo finishing techniques- trimming (Mitch) and refining form (Zoë) 

2-5.00  Participant work time

Questions about firing?

Why do you offer bisque firing, and why is it separate from glaze firing?

We offer a bisque firing so that your pieces are easier and safer to transport. Before firing, pottery is in the greenware stage, which is very fragile and can break easily during handling or travel.

Bisque firing strengthens the clay, making it much more durable while still porous enough to accept glaze later. This allows you to safely take your piece home and gives you the flexibility to choose and apply glaze at your leisure.

We offer glaze firing as a separate option because some participants prefer to finish their pieces themselves later, while others prefer the convenience of having us complete both firings for them.

Why would I choose the glaze firing option?
This option is great if you don’t have access to a pottery studio, kiln, or glazes after the workshop. We’ll take care of glazing and the final firing so your piece is fully finished and ready to use.

If I purchase the full package, how long will firing take?
Please allow 10–14 days for us to complete the bisque firing, glazing, and final glaze firing. Once everything is finished, we’ll let you know when your pieces are ready to pick up.

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Mitch Iburg and Zoë Powell are ceramic artists who have dedicated their careers to working with locally sourced clay and mineral resources. Through the years, they’ve been able to research clays from across the United States: Iowa, Virginia, New York, California, Minnesota, Vermont, Alaska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

They each produce a wide range of work, from functional tea and sake ware to expressive vessels, to sculptural objects. In all their work, Mitch and Zoë share a general ethos of experimentation and collaboration with the natural world.

In 2018 they opened Studio Alluvium, a ceramics studio and teaching organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.