Susan Fiene

Teahouse on Powderhorn Lake

A gathering place for the Powderhorn Neighborhood, the Teahouse is a Gateway project of the Minneapolis Arts Commission. I developed the teahouse in three phases. The main structure was completed in 1994. In the two years following, I raised funding and conducted children’s workshops to produce the cast iron railings and park benches.

The Railing

The Benches

Powderhorn Kids Art Workshop

Neighborhood children were involved in every phase of the design and execution of the railing and benches. The children conceptualized appropriate imagery to represent their ethnic groups and learned modeling and casting techniques.

The turtle and fish imagery was developed by children from the Heart of the Earth Native American School. Children helped model the clay patterns for casting and attended the actual iron pour at local Smith Foundry. The African American children chose the elephant to represent their culture and their concepts were applied to the bench design.

Charlotte cutting wood substrate for turtle.

Imagery developed for the African American bench.