Alchemy of Tea

44 Pages·2015·2.7 MB·English

L S C -k F a g
one tar oLLege ingwood ine rt aLLery
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urated by en riCkenberger
MAY 20 - JUNE 24, 2015
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER · BARBARA BARTLETT
BRIDGET CONN · JENNIFER COYNE QUDEEN
MARI OMORI · RODNEY THOMPSON

Lone Star College-Kingwood is pleased to present Alchemy of Tea, a collection of work inspired by
tea and tea drinking assembled by curator Jen Crickenberger. Alchemy took its first breath at the
Cornelius Art Center in North Carolina in September 2014. Later, Professor Mari Omori, one of
Alchemy’s artists, proposed an exhibition here and connected us with the Cornelius Art Center and
artists Elizabeth Alexander, Barbara Bartlett, Bridget Conn, Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, and Rodney
Thompson. Our sincerest congratulations and thanks to Jen Crickenberger and the Alchemy artists.
Kris Larson, Gallery Director
Lone Star College-Kingwood Fine Art Gallery
Curator Statement
Alchemy of Tea connects a variety of national artists whose work is inspired by tea. This
unique collection of work provokes viewers to contemplate the transformation of tea from
its consumable and degradable form into evocative art. The golden hues and delicate
textures found in this exhibit project its historical and spiritual roots, while each artist’s
subjects juxtapose a contemporary interpretation of tea as a muse and a medium. In this
setting, tea takes on many forms alluding to themes of introspection, domesticity, memory
and mortality. Featured artists include Barbara Bartlett, Bridget Conn, Elizabeth Alexander,
Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, Mari Omori and Rodney Thompson.
Tea ceremonies, while rooted in Asian cultures, have inspired countless tea rituals across the globe
for centuries. The rituals often suggest that consuming tea will offer a calm mind, a connection
to nature and a path to enlightenment. Many ceremonies celebrate the inner and outer human
experiences while some have evolved to promote a sense of prestige. Alchemy of Tea examines the
history and evolution of tea as found within a niche artistic community.
With a focus on the artist as an alchemist, the exhibit demonstrates the innovative use of ordinary
objects transformed into art objects. While each artist has a distinct creative process involving
tea bags, tea stains, tea envelopes or teacups; all of the artists embody a sense of scientific
experimentation. Mari Omori and Rodney Thompson both illustrate an important connection to the
cultural history of tea. Bridget Conn and Jennifer Coyne Qudeen share a similar approach of tea-
infused surfaces used to convey personal memories. Barbara Bartlett exhibits scale and the power
of tea as an aesthetic medium. Elizabeth Alexander offers a modern-day reflection on the societal
allusions of tea. Alchemy of Tea prompts viewers to consider their own personal and spiritual
connections to tea.
Jen Crickenberger
Curator, Cornelius Arts Center
Jen Crickenberger is the Curator & Manager for the Cornelius Arts Center as well as the Public
Art Project Manager for the Town of Cornelius. She was recently awarded the Arts and Science
Council’s Regional Artist Project Grant and commissioned to design the traveling exhibition,
Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited by Johnson C. Smith University.
While working as the Outreach Curator & Associate Director of Education at The Light Factory
Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film, Jen designed a multitude of powerful art
programs and exhibits that engaged teens through technology, photography and literacy.
These programs used the creative process to promote meaningful dialogues among different sectors
of the community. A few highlights include China I-Sights, Message in a Bottle: Reconstructing
Lives, Unique Perspectives: Breaking Boundaries of Students with Autism and We R Clt. In her free
time, Jen continues to work as a professional photographer and teaching artist.
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ALCHEMY OF TEA
Elizabeth Alexander ..............................................3
Barbara Bartlett ....................................................7
Bridget Conn ......................................................13
Jennifer Coyne Qudeen .......................................19
Mari Omori ........................................................27
Rodney Thompson ...............................................33
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Elizabeth Alexander
I make sculptures, drawings, and installations out of intricately cut
paper and found objects. My work deconstructs and then reconstructs
chosen objects, images, or spaces through acts of concealment and
disclosure so that they become versions of themselves that are different,
unearthed from beneath the surface, and highly exaggerated. Patterns
are laboriously removed, divided, repurposed or applied to utilitarian
objects and images of indulgence, giving them uncanny emotional
character. Vulnerability, loss, escapism, and longing are among what stem the moment where these
manipulated items are neither materializing nor disappearing, but caught between both actions.
The application or removal of decoration from an object or space serves to affect its function and
character. The decoration, often floral, is a stand in for delicacy, femininity, cultivation, indulgence,
and beauty, and acts differently when it is removed from a porcelain teacup or added to a tool. When
added, the presence of decoration projects desire, prosperity, and escapism onto objects and places
that are often overlooked. When removed, the absence of decoration signifies loss, vulnerability, and
a leveling of perceived unreachable places. Regardless, the true nature of these objects, spaces, or
images becomes out of place, uncanny, or surreal: tools are too delicate to use, the comfort of domestic
space is alien, and working class symbols are objects of desire. The chosen object, image, or space
is deconstructed, reconstructed, concealed, or exposed to become a version of itself that is different,
hidden, or exaggerated.
Bio
Elizabeth Alexander is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in sculptures and installations made
from paper and found objects. She is a member of the Boston Sculptors Gallery with degrees in
sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy and Massachusetts College of Art. She has fellowships from
both the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the St. Botolph foundation for her work in Sculpture
and Installation Art and was awarded the title “Best Artist of Boston” for 2014 by Improper
Bostonian magazine. Her work has been highlighted and reviewed by publications such as Boston
Magazine, The Boston Globe, Art New England, The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research,
Santa Barbara News-Press, The Detroit Free Press, New Glass Review, Open Letters Monthly, and
Berkshire Fine Arts. She frequently exhibits in museums and galleries across New England in addition
to occasional participation with galleries across the US, Asia, and Europe. Her work is part of private
collections across the United States, including a public 3-D collage in the lobby of The Baronette
Renaissance Hotel in Novi, MI. She regularly serves as a guest speaker, juror, and critic at various
educational institutions including the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is an Assistant Professor at
Montserrat College of Art where she teaches sculpture and installation art. You can view her work at
elizabethalexanderstudio.com.
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Pitch
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Holly I
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Holly II
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Barbara Bartlett
Although I have been a lover of tea since childhood, it was only
about three years ago that tea bags began to show up in my artwork.
Since then, I have immersed myself in the world of the overlooked,
discarded tea bag – the beauty of the stained paper, the subtle colors
of the spent tea leaves, the bright variety of tea tag designs, and even
the simple charm of stained tea strings. I love the aspect of recycling
and reuse that comes into play in this work. Although the process of
drying and disassembling the bags can be labor-intensive, there is
also a satisfying and meditative quality to re-purposing the materials.
As an artist, experimentation is almost always central to my working process. Sometimes
the materials will be the starting point of a piece, as I often found in my work on this series.
Different tea bag profiles (I have discovered more than 25 tea bag designs!) create different
shapes to work with and suggest a variety of ways they can be joined together. In creating
this work, I found myself being drawn to stitch by hand or machine, to glue, to staple, or to
use beeswax as an adhesive medium. While initially the work was two-dimensional, I was
increasingly drawn to creating three-dimensional pieces. Indeed, I often found myself asking,
“Just how far can one push a tea bag?”
Even as a tea lover I was not able to drink enough to amass the many thousands of bags that I
needed for this project. The ongoing donation of used, dried tea bags from a vast circle of friends
and family (and even a local Woodstock café!) has given this work great meaning to me. I love
that within each piece are many cups of tea that translate to pleasure, refreshment, sustenance
and comfort to people I care about. As I make the work, I’m conscious that behind each tea bag
is a story. It is continually fascinating to be challenged to create interest and beauty out of this prosaic
recycled material in which every piece is unique. In making this work, I found myself increasingly
guided by my instinct, trusting my voice as a woman and an artist. It affirmed my willingness to
take risks in the process of discovering what I want to communicate through my work. And yet,
because of the whimsical nature of the material, I found it natural to inject a sense of humor
into what I was creating. But in the end, the contemplative process of making these pieces
just seemed to resonate with the part of myself that savors a cup of jasmine green, Ceylon,
Darjeeling or peppermint.
Bio
Barbara grew up in the Chicago metropolitan area and pursued a career in special education
and social work before following what had been a long-term interest in art. The Boston area
was home for 30 years until she moved to Vermont in 2006. Since the late 1990s, Barbara
has devoted herself full-time to the study and creation of art. She has exhibited nationally
and in Australia. She is represented in private & corporate collections in Sydney, Munich,
Boston, New York, Arizona, New Hampshire and Vermont. Barbara divides her studio
time between Vermont and Sydney, where she lives for four months every year. Barbara
initially studied watercolor and acrylic painting, but soon was drawn to printmaking.
The aspects of layering and texturing it offered easily translated into mixed media, which is the
current focus of her art. In recent years she has become fascinated by the possibilities of working
three-dimensionally. Employing recycled or repurposed material as much as possible, she has
recently created a large collection of pieces made from used tea bags.
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