‘A-R-T’ and ‘T-E-A’: two very small words with a big connection. Let’s not get off to a confused start… I’m not trying to tell you that the contents of your kitchen cupboard are auction-worthy, that your office tea slave is the next Picasso or that your morning mugful is a masterpiece in the making. Nor am I launching a fierce campaign to see a soggy teabag win the Nobel Prize for Art. I simply wish to draw your attention to the generally unappreciated value placed upon the tea leaf in the world of art. Why am I doing this? Hidden amongst the shadows of great masterpieces and swarms of magnus opera lay paintings and posters, wondrous and breathtaking, depicting the act of drinking tea. A patron of the tea world, I implore you to follow me into the misty shadows of the art world as I shed light on those forgotten gems, torch in hand. Read the rest of this entry »