Artist Statement

Artist Statement
Since I was a child I slowly became captivated by the elegance I felt from all things that originated in Japan. Anime and manga started this journey and it continued till it took me to tea. My journey started in university and continues on as each day passes.
In 2010 while completing my thesis work at OCAD University I developed a deep interest in tea, which made its way to my work soon after.  To understand this “new media” I perused the Tea Sommelier program at George Brown College. Here I learned about cultivation, history, culture, how to brew and tasted many, many teas. This allowed me to understand everything there was about the plant Camellia Sinenssis, the Tea plant.
            I began to combine my initial medium, sumi (Japanese ink) ,with this tea “paint”. This added a warmth to the coldness of the ink. My recent work has focused on tea ware, with an ongoing series of tea grids being the best example.  Most recently I played with fruit “teas”, also known as tisanes or not true tea, this allowed me more diversity in colour. The work,  Self Portrait 2013, had more depth because of this. I also realized how certain teas changed colour after it dried and was exposed to air. This discovery was a “happy accident” for the portrait. Combining these two feels like a circle that finally came back to the beginning, “enso”.

                Tea has spread over the years and now many people are learning about it through Chado, like myself.  The practice makes you have an appreciation for many different arts and helps you towards understanding them.  I hope though my work I will be able to show this passion I have for tea and the culture that comes with it.
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