Meet the traveler who paints stunning pictures on tea bags | CNN
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Meet the traveler who paints stunning pictures on tea bags
Tea bag art: Most of us throw our tea bags in the trash and don't give them any further thought. Not Ruby Silvious. The Philippines-born artist has found an ingenious way to regenerate used tea bags into stunningly intricate works of art. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
New expressions: Using watercolors, Silvious paints detailed impressions of sights and sounds encountered on her travels. "As an artist you're always trying to find unique ways of expressing your art, and I think this is where all these discarded materials as canvasses came to light," Silvious tells CNN Travel. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Paris.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Tea for two: Silvious works with recycled materials and also experiments with other mediums. The idea of producing art from recycled tea bags was inspired by a discussion -- over tea -- with her sister. "I started painting on them and I just loved it," says Silvious. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Itoshima, Japan.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Worldwide inspiration: Silvious' tea bag art is inspired by her travels across the world. "I've been lucky enough to be accepted into art residencies, which required me to travel," she explains. "I've done workshops as well which has become the reason for me to go to a country." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Noepoli, Italy.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Japanese origins: Silvious' maternal great-grandmother was from Japan, so the artist was thrilled to spend a month living and working in Itoshima, Japan. "I was doing a series of tea bags while I was there and I called it '26 Days of Tea in Japan,'" she says. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Itoshima, Japan.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Inspirational travels: Japan provided plenty of creative stimulation: "It's all mountains and rice fields, which was absolutely perfect in terms of inspiration," says Silvious. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Itoshima, Japan.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Minimalism: Her time in Japan was a learning curve for Silvious: "I loved the simplicity and the minimal designs," she says. "And I think it's sort of embedded as well because I have part of that in my genes as well." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Itoshima, Japan.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
City life: Silvious wasn't just taken with the scenery in Japan; she was also interested in the industrial side to the city. "I wanted to do a series of subway scenes," she says. "It's just amazing to me how every time I would take the subway or the train in Japan, you'd see so many people sleeping on the train." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Itoshima, Japan.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Tea-lover: Silvious' artwork isn't just fueled by her love of travel -- her love of tea also plays a big part: "I love Earl Grey, and it does not have to be any particular brand, but it's usually what I like," she says. "I like green tea as well." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Tea party: Silvious also notes that the ease of her work depends on the type of tea: "Over time I have discovered all types of tea bag construction. This was not something that I had planned, but I did notice that certain tea bags were just much thinner than others," she explains. "And then some tea bags also stain better than others." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Noepoli, Italy.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Top tea tips: Silvious says camomile tea bags don't work very well "because the tea leaves, when they're dried, stick to the tea bag and they're difficult to remove and difficult to paint on." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Stains and designs: Silvious' favorite tea bags to paint on are black tea and rooibos. "I love rooibos tea because it has these wonderful stains, and sometimes it actually creates certain designs that just inspire me to do something with it. It's wonderful." Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Noepoli, Italy.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Universal appeal: Silvious might be a tea fanatic, but her art also connects with those who don't like the brew. "It seems to me that even non-tea drinkers are fascinated with my work, maybe it's because it's just a unique canvas," she reflects. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Noepoli, Italy.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
A year of tea: Silvious compiled her work into a book, "363 Days of Tea" -- a year of tea bag painting. "Usually the first question is, what happened to the two days? And it has to do with sometimes New Year's resolutions just don't happen very quickly, and I did not start until the third day," she laughs. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Paris.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Follow-up: Silvious is now working on a second book: "Reclaimed Canvas." "This will focus more on not just tea bags but other discarded materials as well, so it will feature art on egg shells and pistachio shells, and all sorts of other materials," says Silvious. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.
Courtesy Ruby Silvious
Future plans: In the meantime, Silvious is planning future travels: "I would love to do [an exhibition] in Italy, because I've never done one there. That's on my wish list," she says. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.
![<strong>Future plans: </strong>In the meantime, Silvious is planning future travels: "I would love to do [an exhibition] in Italy, because I've never done one there. That's on my wish list," she says. <em>Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.</em>](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180123171112-ruby-silvious-tea-bag-art-hyeres-france-5.jpg?q=w_1600,h_900,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
