Painting with Tea with Alexis St. John at Phoenix Tea

On August 10th, Phoenix Tea hosted a Painting with Tea workshop presented by local artist and illustrator, Alexis St. John.  Alexis has experimented with tea as a painting medium for some time and was kind enough to share her experience through this workshop.

We were were provided with all the tools we would need including paint brushes, paper, tea paints (Oolong, Lipton Black Tea, Hibiscus, and Puerh), and clever wooden brushes carved from tomato stakes that would become my favorite tool for this workshop.  Phoenix Tea provided artistic fuel with endless cups of excellent tea.

We were encouraged to paint whatever came to mind, from samplers and doodles to full-page washes and freeform art.  Alexis has found that gum arabic is an effective thickener while cornstarch tended to make the tea pasty and pale.  Matcha mixed into the Hibiscus added a thicker texture and a fair amount of opacity.  Hot press paper retained much of the depth of color with minimal spread while the teas tended to spread, fade, and change color almost immediately on other paper.

[A tea sampler created by Alexis using the same tools from the workshop]

After the event, we each took home a recipe for black tea ink, a wooden brush, and our tea masterpieces.

[A tea blogger's first attempt at painting with tea]

Neither Will This Stay by Ruthie V. at Core Gallery

Core Gallery in Seattle is currently exhibiting "Neither Will This Stay" by Ruthie V. in collaboration with Butoh artist Kaoru Okumura.  The Opening Reception was held on Thursday, July 7th with the artist and model in attendance.  

This series of beautifully layered, larger-than-life figurative works express Buddhist philosophies of impermanence, emptiness, and the self.

[L: Artist Ruthie V. examines a favorite piece.  R: Butoh artist Kaoru Okumura performs alongside her likeness.] 

About the Artists:

Ruthie V. is a Seattle-based fine artist and art instructor. She uses a minimalist approach to create more with less, and generally presents a new show annually with a completely different theme and style.  Though she usually moves on to a new theme at the end of a show, she has been inspired to continue creating art under the theme of "Neither Will This Stay". Ruthie currently leads workshops and will soon be offering art classes through the Seattle Artist League.

Kaoru Okumura is a Seattle-based Butoh artist, photographer, and video artist.  She studied with Asbestos-Kan in Tokyo and performs regularly as a solo artist as well as with groups like Daipan Butoh.

Kaoru performed throughout the Opening Reception, engaging the audience and drawing in spectators from outside as they were passing by for the First Thursday Art Walk.

My favorite piece, below, perfectly embodies the theme of impermanence while also capturing the meditative stillness I associate with tea ceremony.

"Neither Will This Stay" will run through July 30th.  There will be an Artist Talk with a short Butoh performance by Kaoru on July 14th at 7pm and a Talk for Painters on July 22nd at 7pm.