the scared art of showing up
#90 - 30th March 2016
the face of TinyBagsofLove
As I was embarking on my final month of #365Faces - #1FaceADay 2015 - I decided to do all my December faces on RooibosTeaBags and I completely fell in love with my beloved #TeaBagGirls once again. This was not the first time I was painting on my Rooibos TeaBags. December ended up being my absolute favourite month of this whole project, maybe because it felt cohesive to me. I felt strange saying that... did it honestly take me the whole year of 2015 to settle into the concept of 1FaceADay for 365Days, where it flowed out of me without inner resistance and where it felt completely part of my being. That together with the fact that I was feeling quite emotional at the thought of giving up this sweet daily ritual.
There is a sacred art to showing up every single day for your practice.
The idea came to mind to continuing this journey for another year, 2016 but this time, only on TeaBags.
Not only did it make sense to me but it tells such a beautiful story... and one I wanted to tell. It was a proudly South African story, painting on a South African teabag. Plus it would be for the {soul} purpose of having an exhibition and auction all said and done!
I am not going to lie... I was a little afraid, a little nervous and feeling like I might even be a little crazy to embark on such a mammoth undertaking for yet another year. I DID actually know what to expect and it was by no stretch of the imagination easy. Unlike last year, going in with a plan and a vision and a goal made it seem much more attainable! And that was pretty exciting!
exhibition night
Official Exhibition Invites
Tiny Bags of Love - Exhibition Night
My beautiful friend, Anne did my intro speech and came all the way from Durban to support me. In 2015 we did our #1FaceADay together and in 2014 we journeyed to Italy together.
Radio Interview with Cape Talk - 8th March 2017
staying the course
tricks to staying focused
I had to try different ways to keep myself motivated through the year. Sometimes I would have my mini canvases ready and set up in advance for the whole month and it would help me show up everyday.
Here are some of my #365Faces +1 Faces Journey for 2016
#teabagirls #teabagart #tinybagsoflove
264 - 20th Sep 2016
#265 - 21st Sep 2016
#91 - 31st Mar 2016
#333
#
#52 - 21st Feb 2016
#41 - 10th Feb 2016
#365 - 30th Dec 2016
#153 - 1st Jun 2016
#279 - 5th Oct 2016
#160 - 8th Jun 2016
#
#187 - 5th Jul 2016
#206 - 24th Jul 2016
#363 - 28th Dec 2016
#139 - 18th May 2016
#154 - 2nd Jun 2016
#
#152 - 31st May 2016
#203 - 21st July 2016
#303 - 29th Oct 2016
#329 - 24th Nov 2016
#333
#255 - 11th Sep 2016
#320 - 15th Nov 2016
#144 - 23rd May 2016
#116 - 25th Apr 2016
#75 - 15th Mar 2016
#170 - 18th Jun 2016
#
#330 - 25th Nov 2016
#74 - 14th Mar 2016
#270 - 26 Sep 2016
#139 - 18th May 2016
#333
#76 - 16 Mar 2016
PRESS RELEASEs
SLOW Magazine is the official guest magazine for SLOW and SLOW IN THE CITY, the exclusive business lounges operated by British Airways Comair in partnership with FNB Private Clients and RMB Private Bank.
Premier Magazine
Argus Weekender - I actually loved this article.
Media 24 and The Times Live Interviews
The Times did a Newspaper and Video Interview - It was a wonderful experience.
Thank you Petru and Anthony.
Interview with eTV
I had my final tv interview today with eTV. And they managed to get me to paint another TeaBagGirl on camera. I said I was done but here we are...
#367 was born. She was a gift to Tanya, my interviewer, who was blown away with her TinyBagofLove.
My dad and other family members saw it on TV and said it was lovely and I've been receiving calls all weekend about it.
So thank you Tanya and eTv. It was really a wonderful experience.
Tiny Bags of Love
became a class...
After countless requests to understand my process of preparing and painting on teabags...
I decided to make it an online class. It was a wonderful way to share my TeaBagGirls with online friends and other artists around the world. The art and creations that came out of this classroom was mind-blowing.
I am so grateful for this incredible time we had together.
TINY BAGSof love
BECAME SLING BAGS
I worked with a French / South African organisation called Township®, which was founded in 1997 with a commitment to creating meaningful and sustainable economic opportunities for women in South Africa’s township communities.
This long project kept on offering new avenues for goodness for years to come.
4o day at a time
Once I had decided on my frame choice for the exhibition, which had to look astetically pleasing as well as be affordable and practical for shipping purposes, I had ordered my frames upfront and when I received them back they were packaged in sets of 40. So every 40 days I took a pack of frames to my framers with my 40 teabags ready to be framed. I have to just say how incredible my framers were through this whole year. They worked closely with me and never once let me down.
how it all began
How I stumble upon this notion of painting on a teabag?
I had just got back from Italy, my second painting retreat in 2014, when my friend from my first Italy trip had started a project called #100Faces and the idea was to paint 100 small faces... sort of coin size. I knew I wanted to join the project and I kept looking for a substrate that I wanted to paint on, small canvases or paper or something.
the bag that launched over 500 teabag girls…
I was rummaging through my ephemera box when I stumbled across an old tattered teabag. Why it was there, I couldn't tell you but I did know it had been there for around 2-3 years already. I looked at this little square and measured it and realised it was the perfect size. I gessoed it with acrylic primer and started painting when this sweet girl appeared. I had an overwhelming response online.
Little did I know then that this was the start of a beautiful relationship and beautiful love affair with my beloved Rooibos teabags.
Prepping your teabag canvas
firm favorites
Welcome home SweetGirl
#90 gets a special frame
She's finally home and up in a special place. I don't often keep my own art but she is so symbolic to me. She became the face of this project and the face of my online class TinyBagsofLove and that will always hold such a special place in my heart.
Every day while I'm making my cup of tea she's looking at me and we make eye contact and she reminds me of the journey we have walked this past year. Not that I think I can ever forget that but it's good to have touchstones.
And she is mine.
it’s a wrap
It's a Wrap
I wanted to end this project off with strong face and I love who showed up. I also love the natural folds in this teabag and she's framed this way. This woman is now living with a very special lady in Canada and I couldn't think of a better home for her. She was a wonderful way to end this project.
#366 - it's a wrap!
my last 126 teabaggirls…
Went to the framers.
It's an end of an era and I'm so grateful for this incredible journey in the art of showing up every single day even when my heart didn't always feel like it. I hope this story will inspire you and help you grow as much as it has me.
I'm so thrilled to share that my sweet girls are living all around the world. I can't tell you how much that means to me. I never expected this sweet expression of combining tea and art would become such a delightful story.
Thank you for all the love and support for this quirky, precious project of mine, for those who signed up and took my class and embarked on this incredible journey with me and who came to my exhibition and auction.
No words can express my gratitude.
