TEA CHI/CHADO TEA
Upper Panel
“Tea ... is a religion of the art of life.”
Okakura, The Book of Tea
The inspiration for ‘Tea Chi/Chado’ was born after attending the Los Angeles International Tea Festival organized by the Chado Tea Company in December 2016. The eminent tea educator James Norwood Pratt known as the ‘Tea Sage’, offers a profound insight in the opening of the ‘ The Ultimate Tea Lover’s Treasury, that “tea is a treasure of the world. As a consciousness – alerting agent it is mankind’s kindliest ally in the vegetable kingdom”.
The varieties of tea from around the world that all stem from the plant camellia sinensis, gave the impetus to create a painting that seeks to convey the sublime sensory
joy of the tea experience. The painting represents a blend of elements flowing between the meditative movement of Tai Chi with that of celebrating the ritual of drinking tea. The image works on the notion of a visual pun juxtaposing the action of tai chi with the energetic harmonics that flow into tea infusion.