Joanna Bunbury, The Learners of Derbyshire Eco Centre and myself (Isaac Marshall) would like to present to the festival the practice of a Chinese tea ceremony, using artisan ceramics in unison with fine artisan tea. This event will allow participants to experience first-hand the intimate practice of a tradition that has been around for many thousands of years. Usually tea is what we often associate with simple consumption, or a break from what we are working on, but I would like to present it again to you as something that can allow us to connect with strangers and loved ones as we sit in quiet with locally crafted bowls of tea to share and enjoy. This event will give access to use and buy the provided ceramic bowls that will be handcrafted by the students of the Eco Centre Ceramics Course, taught by local ceramicist Joanna Bunbury. It will be a collection made for the event using her artistic expertise to guide them in creating a product that will fill the hands of our guests with warmth, reflection and relaxation. We aim to highlight and share the work of multiple artists all coming together to create a unique experience that will aim to give guests and ourselves a deep moment of connection natures elements and inspire creativity to everyone who participates, as they hopefully will leave with a sense of access to their new found creativity in how they approach drinking tea in their lives. Together we will explore how tea can connect us all in unexpected ways and why it’s medicinal origins as a drink still may hold value in our culture today, many thousands of years after people began to consume it.
Once the ceremony is over, there will be the opportunity to buy the ceramics presented and then there will be open discussions of tea, ceramics, chabana (tea flowers), chaxi (tea staging) and hopefully some our experiences of those who would like to share a tea with us.
