Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Tag prepared for Tag Tuesday   theme - Friendship. This tag is a marker drawing and hand printed text on used tea bag paper, with a felt heart applied to a tea bag tag and braid and baker's twine. Have a terrific Thursday  - drink tea and be kind!

Today's tea tantaliser is a book . I am currently reading "Liquid Jade - The Story of Tea from East to West". I am thoroughly enjoying this social history of tea, finding beautiful poetry, funny and fascinating stories, interesting facts and new knowledge about tea and its integral part in the history of  'East meets West' . Here is an extract from the blurb : ... Liquid Jade's rich narrative history explores tea in all its social and cultural aspects... .  Entertaining yet informative  and extensively researched, Liquid Jade  tells the story of Western greed and Eastern bliss ... also depicts tea's beauty and delights, not only with myths about the beginnings of tea or the lovers' legend in the familiar blue and white porcelain willow pattern, but also with a rich and varied selection of works of art and historical photographs, which form a rare and comprehensive visual tea record... Connecting past and present and spanning five thousand years, B...

hand felted tea pot   On the weekend I attended a workshop at Timeless Textiles, with visiting Ohio tutor and master felter, Pam MacGregor. I am  quite happy with my  creation from Finn  and Merino wool supplied by Feltfine , a local wool supplier.  I thought the design I added in merino wool looked quite organic, but I did note with amusement that someone commented that the flat version looked like pastry and jam. For quite some time,  I was doubtful I could make a lid with stopper which would fit, but following Pam's formula it fits perfectly. teapot ( back)  flat wet teapot  Pam MacGregor is an excellent tutor,  talented felt artist and a wonderful and  generous person . When I first saw the photo of her fish teapot ( below) I knew I wanted to do the workshop with her.  Please visit Pam's website and see more of her brilliant felted teapots. tea pot by Pam MacGregor 

digital print on tea bag paper, Eucalypt leaf, stitching.  The term "billy tea"refers to tea brewed in a billy can, that is a small can, tin or pot used on a camp fire for boiling water/tea.  So the term "billy up to the fire" basically means, "put the kettle on". And for real billy tea, the addition of a few eucalypt leaves is  the ingredient which makes a difference.  The billy tea  from "Waltzing Matilda" seems a long way away from the story of the origin of the tea, but the scene of a man alone with his thoughts under a tree seems familiar.  The  tea legend goes something like this....   Around 2700 BC, the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, a renowned herbalist, was meditating under a tree while he was waiting for "his billy to boil". . A couple of leaves from a nearby shrub blew into the water without him noticing. When he tasted the resulting brew, he was really amazed by the delightful new taste, and the beverage of tea was bor...

Tea on Thursday , sorry a day late... this week the theme was decay, and I chose Miss Havisham  from the Charles Dickens novel, "Great Expectations". Miss Havisham was left at the altar, and from that day when she was meant to be married,she wore her wedding clothes, and left the wedding breakfast to decay over the years. The flowers around her veil are made from tea bag paper. I thought they look just the way white roses decay , wither and turn brown.. The roses are simple made by tearing tea bag paper to a desired width,  rolling the centre, and gradually fanning out the paper to make the outer petals  

It is now the trend to choose a word to motivate and inspire, rather than making New Year resolutions. Strange, I know ... but I have chosen "TEA" as my word. Later in the year, my exhibition will be based on tea, so most of my creative activities this year will involve tea. Lots of  tea drinking is the most likely activity , So each Thursday ( most Thursdays) , I will post something  "tea" related. Here is my first for the year... An art tag made with a used tea bag paper , with some purchased images and stitching, created for the theme Homes/Shelter. I have added the words " A home is not a  mere transient shelter; its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it... H.L. Mencken )