Teapot Masterclass with Kiki Cui
Two days on the Chinese teapot
Why do some teapots pour perfectly while others drip? That is the entire focus of this masterclass.
Kiki Cui, a Shanghai-based ceramicist trained in Jingdezhen, guides you over two days through the anatomy of a small-scale teapot: from the spout to the lid, every detail counts. The goal is not the perfect piece — it is to understand.
For intermediate throwers · small group
PLEASE NOTE: Workshop held exclusively in English
The workshop focuses on small-scale, Chinese-style teapots: these compact pieces, designed to brew little and serve often, where the slightest inaccuracy is immediately visible. An excellent school.
An important word on the mindset. These two days are dedicated to learning, not performance. The objective is not to go home with a perfect piece, but to gain a deep understanding of what makes a teapot function — and to acquire reflexes that you will subsequently use in your own practice. We experiment, we fail, we try again, we analyze. This is precisely how one progresses.
Day 1. Understanding, demonstrating, throwing
The principles of a functional teapot. We begin with theory, because that is what makes the difference. On the agenda:
- The major families — rear-handled teapot, side-handled (kyusu style), top-handled, and handleless houhin.
- The pour — relationship between spout shape and flow, opening design, single or multi-hole filters, and how to achieve a clean, crisp stream.
- Airflow — role and placement of the air hole, balance between pressure and flow rate.
- The clean break — refining the spout, water separation, and the art of pouring without a single drip.
- Lids — overlapping, flush-fit, double-gallery, and cup-style systems; fitting, accounting for shrinkage, and how to keep it stable while pouring.
- Ergonomics — handle design, relationship between body, grip and hand, balance, weight and capacity.
- The foot — different ways to finish the base and its influence on proportions.
The demonstration
Your instructor will throw the entire process before you: planning the proportions, body, lid, spout, handle, and then preparing the elements for assembly.
Practice
It is your turn, with guidance throughout. Individual feedback focuses on controlling proportions, your structural choices, technical difficulties, and functionality questions.
Day 2 — Refining, assembling, understanding
The second day is dedicated to precision, problem-solving, and completing your piece.
- Trimming and refining — reworking the form, adjusting wall thickness, balance, and proportions.
- Lid fitting — reworking the gallery, improving the fit, anticipating shrinkage.
- Spout and handle — refining the spout for a better pour, positioning the handle, attention to joints and transitions.
- Assembly — attaching the elements, correcting alignment, striving for a unified form.
Individual support
Throughout the day, everyone receives feedback on their own work. Discussions may cover the development of a personal formal language, sources of inspiration — ceramics, art, craftsmanship, other disciplines — and how materials, function, and aesthetics respond to one another.
Your pieces will then be fired by the studio within 15 days.
Kiki Cui was born and raised in Shanghai. Her creative journey began in childhood with classical music and the violin, followed by eight years in food consulting, where she developed a unique perspective on culinary culture, craftsmanship, and the gestures of daily life.
Her interest in making goes far beyond ceramics: she has explored traditional Chinese silver filigree and handmade incense, all while maintaining a personal connection to tea culture and cooking.
She approaches ceramics with the desire to understand the process as a whole. Beyond throwing, she explores glaze development and firing methods: plant ash glazes she creates herself, gas and wood firings, and the construction of traditional kilns learned in Jingdezhen, China.
Her practice focuses on thrown functional ware, particularly teapots. What interests her is the relationship between form, function, and the manufacturing process — and how each technical decision shapes the use and character of the final object.
Through her teaching, she wishes to transmit much more than techniques: the reflection that precedes the gesture, from understanding function to developing a personal design approach.
📷 @cui_kiki
Intermediate to advanced level. This workshop is aimed at those who already have experience on the wheel and are capable of making simple forms, cylinders, and bowls on their own. The workshop focuses on the teapot: it does not cover the basics of throwing.
For non-members of Klayit Open Studio: 254 high-temperature stoneware · throwing and trimming tools · calipers · drilling tools · assembly tools.
Studio members are invited to use the 254 stoneware clay ordered for themselves at the studio.
Format · 2 intensive days — demonstration, guided practice, individual feedback
Level · intermediate / advanced
Schedule · Saturday: 10:00-12:00 13:00-16:30 & Sunday 10:00-13:00
Studio · Klayit Renens-Gare or Klayit Genève Nation
Group · 4 participants maximum. 2 participants minimum
Price · 390.-CHF, all-inclusive, Active members of the KLAYIT Open Studio enjoy a preferential price of 350.– CHF.
Language · Workshop held exclusively in English.
Please select your date and time carefully. We do not refund or reschedule bookings. We recommend adding your booked workshop to your calendar, as we do not send reminders.
If you cannot attend a workshop, you may transfer your ticket to another person.