Pottery by Master Qiu Deng Feng (邱鐙鋒), son Qiu Guan Ting (邱貫庭) and daughter Qiu Yi Ting(邱乙婷)

Qiu Deng Feng (邱鐙鋒) (1960-) is a world famous Taiwanese potter whose pieces are now collected by the Tokyo art museum and tea collectors around the world. After working with other potters for years, he began producing pottery by himself in 2007 and opened his studio, Qian Ding Yao (仟鼎窯) in 2009. Their pieces all handmade from a special kind of clay from Taiwan. Qiu Deng Feng developed his glaze recipe over many years that he uses on his pieces. His daughter, Qiu Yi Ting(邱乙婷), helped him start the studio in 2008 after she graduated from college. Once Qiu Deng Feng’s son, Qiu Guan Ting (邱貫庭),  graduated college he began working with his sister and father at their studio, Qian Ding Yao (仟鼎窯).

For most of his career, Qiu Deng Feng’s materials and techniques used for his works necessitated a very high risk of failure during the firing process. The pots were first fired in gas, and only around 20% of the pots make it through without breaking! Once these 20% survived, he then glazed the pots and fired them again; once again there was around a 20% chance of survival. The main reason for this high chance of breaking during firing is that the materials used have a very high concentration of various minerals. The upside is that due to the high concentration of minerals the finished pots, cups, and other works transform water (and tea) to become very sweet, smooth, and full bodied. Now, the same materials are used however they use electric kilns so the survival rate of the pieces is much higher.

These are all collector's pieces; they will easily retain their value if not increase dramatically over the years. The tea made from these pots, poured with the pitchers, and drank from the cups is incredible. Thepots have quite a bit in common with Yi Xing, as both types of material can dramatically enhance the tea drinking experience.