Author Archives: artandtea

March Beaded Journal Page

Well, after 3 months, my March page is finally finished. I’ve gone through a lot of changes since my original idea and beading start, the biggest change being a physical move to a new home.

I’ve named this page “Looking Out from my Healing Place”. The tree represents a journey of healing that I took after my divorce 4 years ago. There were a lot of twists and turns in this journey but I was always reaching for the sky and growing. My tree has grown in strength and wisdom and now it is time to look out upon the world with awakened eyes and find out where this person that I have become will fit. I don’t have one face because there are 3 aspects of me, who I was, who I am now and who I will be. My past, my present and my future self. Which face is which? The tree roots are not yet firmly in the ground but I have hope that they will find their place, too.

Many thanks to Robin for her inspiration with this twisted tree branch stitch. The timing of receiving her new book, “Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery” was perfect for what I needed to express with this piece. I wrote about that here.

I have just begun my April page. The colors are much more vibrant than my March piece. Right now the title that has come to me is “Home is Where my Heart Grows”. Stay tuned for photos of this work in progress. I started this piece watching “Ethics and the World Crisis – a Dialogue with the Dalai Lama”. What an amazing human being he is.

Saturday Morning Tea

This has been a weird week full of stress at work. Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems like the universe is pointing you in a brand new direction but it is happening with more of a wack over the head than a gentle nudge? So, this morning it is time to slow way down, sip some gentle light tea and contemplate the week. My choice for a gentle tea is a very unique green from Korea called Jung Jak, meaning “medium sparrow tongue” for the shape of the leaf. This is the first time I’ve ever tried tea from Korea and it is a delightful experience. The leaves were plucked from young spring buds in April and processed entirely by hand.

Like the Arya White Pearl from last week, the leaf is exquisite with full leaf sets. This tea is so light that the aroma is a whisper and the taste is very delicate and subtle. The liquor is smooth and buttery as it brushes against my tongue with light vegetal notes. I steeped the leaves at 160 degrees F for 3 minutes.

One of the high notes of the week was when a colleague/friend at work gave me this sweet little glass teapot complete with glass infuser. It is perfect for full leafed teas like this one. Thanks Rebecca!

With temps soaring into the 90s this weekend, I am headed out to the backyard deck to sit in the sun and journal about the week.

Saturday Morning Tea

After a cool very springlike May, temperatures have started to slowly creep up this past week so now mornings are in the 50s when I leave for work. With temps in the 40s every morning for the longest time, I was beginning to feel that I had put away that winter jacket way too early! Last week I tried a first flush black Darjeeling from the Arya estate. This morning I am continuing with my Arya theme by trying their white tea called White Pearl. Its processing is as precious as its name. The full leaf sets are plucked at dawn when the dew is still wet on the leaves. After drying in the sun for several hours they are then carefully rolled in silk cloth and then allowed more drying time. This is truly a very unique artisan tea.

The beauty and quality of the leaf is apparent in this full leaf set I extracted from my steeped leaf. Guidelines call for an 8-11 minute steeping time in 180 degree F water. As I only had a precious 4 grams of this tea, I wanted to be able to resteep the leaves so my first steeping was at 3 minutes. The resulting liquor is a pale straw color with crisp delicate vegetal notes. It was very light tasting.

I decided to resteep the leaves for 8 minutes and lowered the water temperature to 170 degrees F. The resulting liquor is stronger with a more pronounced crisp fruitiness that reminds me of a light crisp white wine. This tea would be fabulous iced with a floating slice of lemon in your glass and a wedge of melon on the side. Summer is coming!

A Woodland Walk

Yesterday we went for a walk in the woods. The moment I step on the path, I feel enveloped in a hush, a quiet that I don’t know in my regular day to day world. To me, the woods are a sacred place where everything is as it should be and “being” is the way of life. A deep calm permeates my whole being with every step along my woodland journey.

The ladyslippers, orchids of the woodland, are in full bloom under the trees. We found this beauty in a ray of sunlight, like she was on stage taking her bows. Oh, what treasures we find as we go deeper along our path.

I love the way the light plays amongst the leaves, giving it that dappled appearance.

I found this little hidden place at the base of a tree. Why am I so drawn to trees these days? Their strength, their majesty, their rootedness. I think of all of these qualities as I lay down the beads on my March journal page. As predicted, I didn’t get much done at my guild meeting but I had some time last night to work on it and, hopefully, some time this evening, too. I’m still considering what to do about the roots and the sides of the tree. I want to hang a couple of dangly roots to symbolize my inner feeling of rootlessness. Maybe a suggestion of branches since my main focus was on the bark texture and knots. I’m also thinking of what lies ahead for my April page. An image of a heart inside of a house is starting to form in my mind.