It’s been some time since I added a post however I did revamp the layout of my website in an effort to put to practice
the purpose for coming to the UK to do a post-graduate degree. Although the impetus was initially an ongoing case of
wanderlust, once I found the Art & Environment Masters program, applied to then was accepted, the intention became
about shifting the trajectory of my art career. In other words, taking a right turn where the road seemed to be
otherwise straight ahead. I wanted to include the other aspects of my creative life: music, fibre arts, writing, installation
and love of film, allowing my work to expand outward whilst digging deeper into context, place and purpose.
To give voice to ideas through a myriad of processes, each of which would be equally valid.
These days, I am still painting, drawing and taking photographs but my main focus
is a large-scale multidimensional sculpture and installation which, when completed will have been a full
year in production. It has evolved from simply wanting to be thoughtful about the kinds of materials I would
use to make my art and has grown into me collecting, emptying and sewing together hundreds of used tea bags,
researching the history of tea in the UK, thinking about the sense of displacement I was feeling after three years of moving from place to place, studio to studio, and setting up workshops to have people help me empty the tea while talking about their stories of boat journeys, their idea of home, displacement and what tea means to them in their everyday life. Along side the life-size rowboat I plan to build with the tea bags, I am compiling a soundscape of the stories, the sounds and the melodies that are unfolding throughout the process. I have new methodology, an extended way of working by integrating research gathering with creative idea building. The interest that people have shown about this project and the stories they have shared have become a cornerstone to my time here in Cornwall. I have discovered a new sense of self as a creative story-teller, as a woman, as an artist.
Life and art are indefinable as separate entities; I am completely immersed and loving it all.
humstonstudios 
love the idea behind this installation sculpture and I’m looking forward to hearing more and following it’s course. Tea , to me, is one of those magical things that aid in the creation and telling of stories, it builds relationships, mends fences, opens doors, creates community, and so much more. I have monarda growing in my yard because the smell (Earl grey) reminds me of favorite get togethers and relationships of friends. All the best to this endeavor. Tracie Stewart
Hello Tracie! Thank you for your feedback and for sharing beautifully what tea means to you. I look forward to sharing more photos and some of the stories, perhaps the soundscape as well. All the best, Siobhan