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Tilt of the Earth

An Aesthetic Litmus Test
Teacup is a white
Art, education, and environmental awareness are
present and linked all the time. We don’t see them as
separate or think of them as categories. When you’re porcelain tea cup
tasting something, it’s an aesthetic experience, but you’re
also “learning” something about the world, your own body, kintsugi repair on our teaware so guests can further ap-
the people who made the tea. In turn, it’s easy to feed a preciate the arts of long life teaware designs, and their
desire to enable the planet and humans to continue mak- long journeys to their hands. with a rim that tilts at
ing such good tea (which means taking care of farmers, Last summer we had the good fortune of participat-
land, air, and water). We don’t preach about any of these ing in a five-week visual arts residency at the Banff Cen-
things, but offer up experiences that hopefully make “the tre for Arts and Creativity in Canada. The theme of the
environment” immediate, felt, and intimate, even if we residency was Meetings for Teas (we were beyond thrilled a 23.5° angle—the
offer no overt, direct ecological “lesson.”. Awareness, in about this thematic!). During the residency, and for the
the fullest sense of the word, is simultaneously social, past two years as we’ve spent more time in Maine, we
political, environmental and aesthetic. The assemblage of focused on developing ways to adapt tea practices and
artworks, tasting experiences, and performative gestures teaware for outdoor field experiences. We’ve been prac- angle of the Earth’s
that we stage at OBSERVATORY activate each of these ticing tea while conducting research in remote field sites
elements simultaneously. for many years. But now, given the realities of climate
It’s important to acknowledge that most of our teas change, we’ve come to see outdoor tea practice as an
come from Japan, though this year we are experimenting aesthetic litmus test for what humans are being required tilt toward the Sun.
with wild grown Chinese and Taiwanese teas. Regardless, to adapt to. Making tea in the field has been instructive.
we are aware of the ecological and historical/colonial If you want to honor the tea and the process you’re en-
entanglements of tea: its carbon footprint, the human gaged in, you need to be present with the immediate en-
labor involved, impact on land, transportation and ship- vironmental variables that can make tea brewing challeng-
ping. These things are front of mind as we select teas. ing: uneven surfaces, wind, exposure to sunlight, weather,
Given the climate of North America, there is no getting sudden change. Making tea outside involves more logistics.
out of the need to source tea from Asia. Still, it’s never You need to have everything required with you. The form
taken for granted and we take it seriously. We are trans- can become very flexible of course, but there are still the
parent about this and make efforts to share as many details basic necessities of water, tea and objects to drink from.
about the teas as possible. It’s very rare, for example, to What constitutes a “good cup of tea” ends up becoming
find tea companies in Japan with women producers or whatever tea becomes, right then and there—because of
CEOS. So, last summer we did a series of tea tastings then and there. That’s been a helpful ecological lesson to
celebrating women in tea. We are also starting to collab- learn over and over within many different contexts.
orate with Cathleen Miller at OBSERVATORY. She is an At OBSERVATORY, we plan to share what we are
herbalist in southern Maine who grows her own plants. learning about tea as a medium for sensing and signaling
We now serve her organic herbal tea alongside Japanese volatile environmental contexts and change. We are con-
teas. Some people aren’t into the caffeine of green teas, ducting field research around the Gulf of Maine, one of
especially when we host events in the evening. So we’re the fastest warming bodies of water on the planet, and we
having fun collaborating with Cathleen to create an herb- will stage exhibitions of our field notes in OBSERVATO-
al OBSERVATORY blend. RY’s gallery in the coming months.
We always serve tea in porcelain, reusable cups. In closing, OBSERVATORY extends a warm invitation
Many of the cups are sourced by our friend, Marie Uno, to all who seek solace, inspiration, and connection. Wheth-
in Tokyo, from flea markets and antique shops. We call er you’re a seasoned tea aficionado or a curious traveler
them long life designs, as many of them are over 100 years passing through, the Tea Hut awaits, ready to whisk you
old and meant to be used in daily life. These humble cups away on a journey of discovery and delight. So come, sip,
aren’t treated in an overly precious way, but rather re- and savor the magic of tea at OBSERVATORY—the cosmic
spected for their ability to endure. Marie has also done waystop along the path of planetary transformation.

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