What Else?

I continue to gather tea bags from increasing larger sources. What an odd thing to collect!

Here's an idea that needed to be tried. I dyed the canvas with tea (what else?) and sewed the tea strings onto it, leaving some of the tags on. Don't know quite where this can go, but it's a start!

it all comes together

I had no idea that a blog would change my life. It has changed what I do, where I do it and who sees it all.

In less than a year I have gone from being a nearly full-time painter to being a nearly full-time writer. I have learned to deal with a camera and use my paintings and photographs to illustrate what I write in newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

My writing has brought me to Siracusa in Sicily where I cook and have a table that overlooks the Mediterranean where I paint. The fava beans in the photo were the featured in a recent post on my food blog, CarolEgbert.com.

--Carol Egbert

Tea Craze Continues

Okay, what else can I do with the components of the tea bag? I'm trying to consider all parts, the paper of course, which continues to be a rich source of design possibilities, the tags of all sizes, colors and materials, the humble strings which attach the bag to the tag, and the tea leaves inside. Much to ponder!

I've gathered quite a collection of tea tags now that I've sorted into colors and will probably plan to do some kind of collage with. Here are a couple of the tag collections:


I'm also experimenting with stitching with the tea strings. Many have been dyed various shades of brown during the tea bag drying process and I'm finding them quite interesting when sewn onto tea-stained cloth.

I'm open to suggestions if anyone reading this has any ideas. I think I have the energy to keep pursuing this for quite a while! Also if anyone wants to dry and save used tea bags for me, I'd love to collect more varies!!!!

More Tea

I'm continuing to work with dried tea bags and really enjoying the interesting results I'm getting. I'm trying to become a little looser in the ways the papers intersect and overlap.

Here are a tray of tea bags finally drying in the sun after days of pouring rain:


These two pieces are on smaller canvases, 10 x 12 inches, which will be a lot easier to transport if I decide to bring them back to Vermont. I imagine combining a number of these together to make one larger piece:

My Cards in Canada

Woo hoo! I finally got approved by the Canadian greeting card distributor that is interested in several of my black and white designs as well as the quotation cards. Now for negotiating the details. If everything works out, this will greatly expand the market for my work. Yowza.

Floating in Tea

The tea theme rages on! This past week I'll been drying and taking apart used tea bags to reclaim the wonderfully stained paper that the tea leaves create. I find them quite beautiful and varied, depending on the tea type and brand. "Accidents" in the drying process (sunshine, low oven setting "baking") encourage a more refined and experimental approach to how long I brew the bag and what position I lay it in for drying.

Then the collaging process begins, which is where the pure enjoyment of creating really kicks in. I've done several pieces on canvas and look forward to trying some different ways of construction. Here are some of the early pieces:








Now I need to start hosting some massive tea parties! It seems a shame to be pouring perfectly good tea down the drain.

Cynthia Emerlye:
Sometimes it's difficult to determine the best orientation for my hand cut kirigami mandalas. Here are two more I've recently cut, each of which has that happy problem. When I am creating hanging mandalas, I have to choose in order to string them. With these frame-able ones, the customer gets to choose which way to mount them.

These two mandalas are available in my Etsy shop at www.EmerlyeArtsKirigami.Etsy.com

Loving Couple Lotus v.1


Loving Couple Lotus v.2


Lotus Love Birds v.1

Lotus Love Birds v.2