Tea for Two

If you're on the east coast, oh how I hope you made out well with the storm. We fared very well here with little storm activity, but it is heartbreaking to see so many experiencing a life altering experience just a short distance from here. 

This 'tea for two' art project was a mental respite from all the sad news this week. Over the weekend, before I knew what we were going to be up against, I made a template for paper tea cups based on one I had seen online. I figured if I made them ahead of time and we lost power, I could always paint by candlelight to pass the time. 

I altered the template, but essentially, using an empty cereal box, I cut out the four panels for each cup, taped them together, created a bottom piece and paper mached over them covering the inside and out. 

With the drying time, taking a good eight hours or so on a windowsill in the sun, I left them to harden until I could paint them and treat them as a mixed media canvas of sorts. Each night this week, I came home to my 'tea for two' cups and either painted them, searched for ephemera or spent some time gluing on bits and pieces of this and that. Paper doilies quickly became my go to staple for the project. Tea and doilies just seem to go hand in hand.  

I plan on using them as decor slash storage for odds and ends that need a home in my studio. They are also my inspiration for a mother-daughter class I have been thinking about offering. A class where mom's and daughter's can come and bond over an art project and have some one-on-one time with each other. It could be a great Mother's Day gift from a father or child. I know, I know. May seems so far away, but you'll see, it'll be here before you know it [someone please remind me I said this in March when I am whining about the weather].