R I T U A L O F S M A L L T H I N G S
The Only Reason
2023
Began 7”x5”x5”, Now 4"x3"x3"
Two extra large Starbucks tea bags, Starbucks pastry bag and sandwich bag, wrapped in cold brew string, and topped with espresso bean.
The Only Reason is a few years old and showcases how these sculptures change over time. Three of the photographs are from 2023. The largest photo is from 2025. You can see clearly that the piece has aged. It has also grown smaller, the papers curling up and in, the strings growing loose, and the teabags shrinking as they dried out.
Collection 1.
2023
up to 8”x5”x5”
Single tea bags
Sometimes, the teabag is a work of art without any additional elements and minimal involvement from my end. The staining is a physical record of experience. A visual representation of memory. For some of these pieces, I shaped them with my hands to emphasize the striking beauty already present and then let the piece be finished. I feel the simplicity of these pieces allows the strongest aspects of the sculpture to be appreciated. I find them to be surprisingly evocative and human.
This image carousel shows Deflated, Creased, Drained (3 images), and Rounded (2 images).
I Make Pho When I Miss You
2025
each is up tp 3.5" x 2.25 x 1.5"
Egg shells, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, fennel, cumin, resin
For this piece, I saved the spices and aromatics after making Pho. After they dried, I arranged them in the egg shells and poured resin. The four eggs display together as one piece.
Cross and Proboscis
2025
13" x 3" x 2"
10.5" x 2.5" x 3"
Cross: tea bags, thread, wood, glue
Proboscis: Black and herbal tea bags, thread, wood, glue
Both these pieces are designed to hang from a wall like two-dimensional art.
Collection 2.
2023-2025
2” x 2” x2” - 1”x 7” x 7”
This image carousel shows Thai Basil, Jasmine Walnut Circle, Burnt Offerings (2 images), Walnut Ball, DNA is an Echo, Orange and Matches, Wax circle, and Orange Spice.
Stacked
2025
1.5" x 3.25" x 1.75"
Teabags, string wood glue
As this piece came together, I was reminded again and again of bodies. The pool of wood glue beneath looks like fluid. The cotton appears like skin, in both texture and color. The darker patches look like bruises and injury. This piece seems profoundly sad and alludes to terrible conflicts where bodies are stacked.
Safflower
2025
4" x 4.5" x 5"
Extra large black teabags, cold brew strings, loose safflower tea, wood glue, school glue.
Safflower is full of yearning. The dripping fluid speaks to sex, longing, and perhaps heartbreak. The binding with cold brew strings is reminiscent of shibari, particularly when viewed from the side. One aspect of sex, is that it’s an experience where we feel consumed by desire and wish for that desire to be fulfilled while simultaneously trying to prolong the experience. Sometimes the dripping fluid and mold in this piece is perceived as sadness and heartbreak. Both interpretations speak to yearning and for me that is the chief characterization of the piece.
In magick, safflower is often associated with love spells and attraction magick.
