Matcha

The study of tea ceremony and meditation has had a profound influence on my art and artistic process. To this day, I start most mornings with a bowl of matcha before strolling down to my studio, where I then meditate.

I studied Chado (translation: The way of the tea) and its related arts for four years at the Shoseian Tea House in the Seattle arboretum. The principles of Chado are Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility. These qualities are meant to carry over into our daily lives, and they do show up in my process and the art itself.

The Seattle Japanese Garden teahouse Shoseian (translated as “Arbor of the Murmuring Pines.”) Photo: Aurora Santiago

In the tea ceremony, one achieves purity first by purifying all the utensils used to prepare and serve the tea. Purification is not only about the utensils but also about the purification of our minds and spirit. These acts are done ceremoniously, and they influence how I treat the paper and the tools I use to make the paper that is then shaped into my encaustic sculptures.

My art is like the tea ceremony; it has offered me a place to find stillness. A way to quiet the chaos of the mind and become present and centered. I am grateful for the teachings shared with me and how the tea ceremony shapes my life and art.

*Five Gateless Gates, 2020, Artist-made Kozo paper encaustic sculpture, on birch panel, 17 x 88 x 5 inches

*Private commission on five panels. The Gateless Gates are representative of the mind entering through to the place where it can be still. Each panel represents the artist’s evolution as one gains more and more insight into their practice.