As I was embarking on my final month of #365Faces - #1FaceADay 2015 - I decided to do all my December faces on Rooibos/Redbush  #TeaBags 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 in showing up every single day.

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 would be more cohesive and uniform than my faces/canvases from 2015.  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! 

Here are some of my #365Faces +1 Faces Journey for 2016

#teabagirls #teabagart #tinybagsoflove

Exhibition Invites

Triple the Love

~ PRESS RELEASES ~

The Times did a Newspaper and Video Interview - It was a wonderful experience.

Thank you Petru and Anthony.

Media 24 and The Times Live Interviews

Interview with eTV

Slow Magazine

Premier Magazine

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 a class, an online class.  That was a brilliant experience and 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'm so grateful for this incredible time we had together.

Staying focussed...

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.

Sometimes it was up on my studio wall.  Other times it was on my desk or on a board so I could sit with my family at work while they were watching tv.  Part of the art of showing up was making sure my teabags were always ready.  I had a very set routine and schedule around that.

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.  

Clowning around...

Some of my clowns ended up being my favourite pieces.

With February being the month of love, all my February girls had red roses.

How it all began...

I get asked all the time... how did 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.

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...

The Two Most Asked Questions about my TeaBagGirls

Did they all come from your mind?  What was my inspiration?

To answer this question honestly, each teabag kind of lead me and we would journey together.  Each new face was a delightful surprise to me too.  Some days I needed all the help I could get, to get me started and to stay motivate.  Often each teabag started with me being able to find a face in amongst the tea stains.   It almost became a daily game I played to see who I could find but ultimately who would show up on my little canvas.  Sometimes I set monthly objectives, like February was Roses and June was doubles.  Sometimes it was to be lighthearted to find clowns.  Other times my gran showed up.

Throughout the year I only used a reference 3 times. Two self-portraits and one Klimt inspired.

It was through this project that I discovered that I'm more of an intuitive painter than anything else and even if you put a reference in front of me, I will probably still find my own way.

Welcome home SweetGirl

MotherLove

Flowrsinherhair

so many flowrs, feminine gestures

In total, around 126 TeaBagGirls had "flowrsinherhair"

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 very last 126 teabags before they 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.