Tea Bag Art

I've been making changes. I've been editing things. I've been keeping what I love and eliminating what I don't as best I can. I believe Mother Earth is sacred. So I have been editing my art supplies. I am gradually eliminating all my art supplies that aren't kind to the Earth and replacing them with non toxic, green, eco friendly, and sustainable supplies. I have been using recycled canvases and am going to experiment with different types of canvas material. And instead of paper I've been painting on teabags! I love painting on tea bags. Here is some of my latest tea bag art.

Comments

[Sue]

So cute. These are amazing little works of art and I also like to use tea bag paper to create with!
I like the trio, can't spell triptych! You have given me an idea!

Well done you for going green.
Once we have lost the Earth, we can't get it back.....so precious!
Enjoy all your new supplies!
Sue xxx

[Annette G]

great results, Happy PPF, Annette G

[Faye]

Neat paintings. They look like they were fun to make. What's teabag paper made of? Can't you use recycled paper if you don't want to use ordinary paper? Reusing canvases is an excellent idea. Most paper will biodegrade, but I have my doubts about canvases. I have a feeling they will be in the landfills for centuries. It's good you are thinking about the future. In my grandma's day, they just buried stuff in the pasture. There just weren't all the toxins then that we have now. It's fun to go digging in the countryside and discover some of the "ancient" trash that has withstood time (usually glass or crockery).

[Julie Engelhardt]

Sue, thanks so much for your sweet words.

Annette, thanks!

Faye, as far as I can tell, tea bags are made from paper fiber which is a combination of wood and vegetable fiber from hemp. I am also using recycled paper, I drink a lot of tea so I thought I'd experiment with tea bags because I love trying new things. Digging for ancient trash is always fun! Thanks for the kind words.

[Debbie]

Good for you! Your tea bag art is precious. I like to use them in collage for a neat transparency effect. I once discovered an artist on Etsy who does one drawing per day on a teabag. https://www.etsy.com/shop/missouribendmusings?ref=search_shop_redirect

[Julie Engelhardt]

Debbie, thanks! And thank you for the link I'll check it out.

[Ilona]

Wonderful pieces of art. I love your tea bag paintings! And I love your idea of using recycled canvases. I've been thinking along these lines too. I've started collecting material for repurposing and recycling to use in my art.
Happy PPF
Ilona

[Nigel]

Love the teabag art. Just wondering, what happens to the tea?

Good luck with your attempts to go green.

[JKW]

This is totally interesting. . . the art is good. Blessings, Janet PPF

[Julie Engelhardt]

llona, thanks and good for you!

Nigel, thanks and it's a pretty long process, after I have my cup of tea I save the tea bag and let it dry out, then remove the staples, then empty the tea and compost it, then unfold the bag and sometimes iron it. Then the tea bag is ready to be painting on!

JKW, thank you

[Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers]

Great ideas, Julie - and I've just read your last comment about the process of preparing the teabags! A lot of work, but all part of the Zen process, I think! A sweet little trio of paintings!
x

[Julie Engelhardt]

Janice, thanks and it is very zen!