Tea Journey

26th year of life

    I quickly wrote this out and wanted to have it posted so I can never go back on my own word. I wanted to share this with everyone as well as it may interest you or spark your own little life goal as well.

“It is the eve of my 26th birthday. My gift to myself is going to be tea. You are going to think I am crazy but hear me out.  I already have tea, I drink it and enjoy it. Although for the last few months I have lost my passion for it.  On the way home I was reading a book by a Urasenke master and he described how tea is a way of life. I had already learned about this from many books before but it just seemed more fresh from his written words.

    Chanoyu or The Way of Tea is a way of life. Everything in the tea room relates back to life itself. The four virtues are very important, especially now in such a technological society. What I am trying to explain is that I want to live by these virtues.

  Over the next 4 years I will be focusing on one virtue at a time, while learning and striving to live by them all. But by focusing on one at time for a years length I can truly live through tea.

   To devote myself I am going to post these virtues at my home, my work and eventually tattoo (one at a time) on my body; as reminders of how important these are to my daily life. I have been such a scatter brain, over spender; thoughtless, unforgiving, unloving etc the list is endless. I wish to be a true human being through tea with use of these virtues.

  I depart for a work/vacation and will keep these virtues close to my heart each day of the two weeks. But as of now I will live as I have wanted to. I am taking back tea which I lost and bringing it back in to my life as I once had.

    Ichi no Ichi- I cannot let a moment pass by without realizing how important each moment is.”

Below is a link to information on these virtues:

Tea Ceremony:

‘via Blog this’

How tea effects art for me – 2 Year Anniversary for Tea Journey!

For my TWO year anniversary post I decided to put together a little montage to visually show my growth with Tea since I began consuming tea regularly. To do this I used my own art work as they both grew together over these years. Please enjoy~

First step towards my ink style. 
ukiyo-e  with screen printing  ( Abe no Seimei 2008)
Drinking tea regularly and learning new styles around this time. Stopped drinking coffee due to a seizure around Thanksgiving
One of the few first works I have done in ink  at OCAD U  ( Dream or reality 2009)
Regularly looking for new teas in Toronto and regular customer for Davids Tea.
Began to learn other methods of painting with sumi-e ink.
Bought Matcha for the first time and used a fork. Soon after
purchased a chasen to prepare it right. (Fetus Fear 2009)
Purchased first Yixing from Tao Tea leaf. Bought first porcelain gong fu set and a glass gaiwan. Began to understand more about Oolongs and a little about Puerh. Finally moving FAR away from Japanese sencha and genmaicha! Utilized old watercolour skills with Sumi-e, encouraged by thesis professors to  be bolder and less controlling with future work.( Hold 2010, Thesis at OCAD U
Utilized tea in a work for the first time. Visited Majestes regularly for quality teas. And learned of
the Tea Guild of Canada. Joined Summer 2011!
Attained another Yixing from Majesteas. Working for Teaopia for
over a year! Attained more yixings from work. Began tea antique collection
and began to read The Way of Tea. My second tea book after a tea handbook!
Began to work slowly towards the direction I was told to go by professors. Been graduated for over a year.
Started to take Japanese lessons!
(Lace 2011)
Became a Public Relations rep for The Tea Guild of Canada.  Now has too many teas, extensive knowledge
byond what I need for work. Helps out with “World in Your Tea Cup” Event! Great fun.
Now has too much tea ware (no such thing!) and too much tea (blasphemy!).
Began to experiment more with “tea” as tone. (Hair 2011)
Brings tea where ever I go practically! Creating many entries on tea to Tea Journey!
Reviewed Do Matcha! Made more tea friends at the Guild, two I knew from work. Encouraged a co-worker to join Guild!
Began Tea Sommelier classes, been taking Chanoyu classes when able (I love to learn!). Working on promotional materials for the Guild!
Me working in the back in a Sumi-e workshop at the JCCC in March  2012
Tried some amazing teas at Majesteas and Tao Tea Leaf for Spring!
Learning more about processing of teas in the process outside of class. Been
 supporting The Global Tea Hut since February! Enjoying the large selection of spring teas
 and refined taste of my pickings~ My chop for new work, It says ” Guren” Crimson Lotus.
I will have it by next week! I picked these characters as my hair is red and the lotus symbolizes
 growth for me. Growing out of the mud and into the world as a flower.
Been with Teaopia for 2 years (June 10th 2012) and have had Tea Journey for
just as long. Now I work for Teavana, and hope to grow some more as a 
茶 人 (Tea person), Artist and as an individual in
general.  I truely hope to meet more wonderful tea people and have long lasting
 friendships (Tiffany, Grace, Kingkoh,
Brooke  etc <3 Love you all!) I will be meeting with the Guild
board this summer to plan out fall meetings. I can not wait to get things rolling~
  I am on my second tea class
and I am having one more before I start my super summer. After that third class I am
 about half way done the program.
Certification exam to follow there after and my N5 exam for Japanese Proficiency as well!
“Sheng Nong” in progress for 2012!

  


The Way of Tea – end recollection

The book flowed very well. Kept me wanting more even though I had to A: change trains, B: Switch to the bus ,or C: work. I quite enjoyed reading more about all the other old masters of the past and more on Tao of tea.
It helped a lot that I had previously read Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching and Kakuzo Okakura’s The Book of Tea. I understood each and every word and also tried to remember if I have ever felt Cha Qi. I have never been good at writing for blogs but feel that for this one writing what comes to mind at first works best.

Anyhow overall I feel like reading this book again as it was just as calming as my tea sessions and my own studio time. I hope to soon get a copy of Kakuzo-sans book and then start writing a possible book I have planned or scholarly paper. Which ever of the two it ends up being.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Tea and Tao, separate or not.

The Way of Tea- First 38 pages


Reading this book word to word, page to page, paragraph to paragrah. Each peice of it speaks of Lao Tzu, Lu Yu and Tao. The language flows smoothly with no breaks of gaps. It was hard to put it down once I started, almost missed my transfer from the Bloor line to Younge.
Gazeing at it now while siping Pheonix Dan Cong from Tao Tea Leaf (Toronto) makes me want to forget about things I have on my list to do tonight and just read. Forget about everything till I have finished reading every juicy word. I am going to stop now to finish a few things before going back to it, sleep and then back again for the commute to work in the morning.