The Meditative Art of Tea: Finding Stillness Through Mixed Media
Tea holds a special place in my creative process and personal history. With a mother from Badulla, a tea estate town nestled in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka, the ritual of brewing tea has always represented comfort, nourishment and the generosity of the relationships in my life. In our rapidly moving world, the deliberate pause required to prepare a proper cup feels increasingly significant—a thoughtful and quiet resistance to constant hurry (My Sri Lankan parents always brew a cup of tea right before leaving home for the airport, it’s their way of finding some stillness before all the busyness that lay ahead).
Finding Beauty in Simplicity
These tea artworks were initially created as an experiment, using simple tools. After carefully sketching the vessel forms in light pencil, I then explored the interplay between ink, water, brush, and twig. Using these simple tools helped create the novel inked stripes that are semi-translucent and organic. The unpredictability of how the ink from the twig would react with the water on the paper, was exciting and imperfect. A process I would recommend as a form of active meditation.
What fascinates me about working with mixed media is the balance between intention and discovery. While I had envisioned where those distinctive striped patterns would appear, the precise way the ink interacted with water on paper created nuances impossible to entirely predict. This controlled exploration became a form of active meditation—mindful, focused, yet open to the possibilities that emerge when different materials converse.
Time as an Essential Ingredient
Time is the ultimate supporter. After completing the initial ink compositions—with their placed stripes and thoughtful use of negative space—I let these works rest for over six months. Although it felt a bit like abandonment, in time I realised that the space allowed both the works and my perspective to mature.
When I returned to these pieces earlier this year, I brought new intentions and materials: willow charcoal, pen, and watercolor. The addition of charcoal was a considered choice, bringing textural depth and velvety darkness that transformed the original compositions while honoring their essential forms. Despite the inherent messiness of charcoal (it does require fixative to preserve), its rich presence really complemented the earlier ink work nicely.
Exploring Mixed Media Techniques
For those interested in mixed media exploration, the combination of ink with charcoal offers rich artistic possibilities. Starting with fluid ink establishes composition and movement, while later additions of charcoal bring depth and tactile presence. The contrast between wet and dry media creates visual tension that draws the viewer in.
When using willow charcoal, embrace its messy nature—the way it responds to pressure, how it creates both bold marks and subtle shading, the dusty residue is part of the process. Fixative spray (applied outdoors) preserves the delicate markings, prevents smudging and ensures their permanence.
Finding Presence in the Creative Dialogue
What makes this approach to mixed media so centering is the attentive conversation between artist and materials. Even with careful planning, there remains space for discovery—watching how ink follows water paths, observing how charcoal responds to the texture of paper, finding the perfect balance between structure and spontaneity.
By allowing the materials to guide the process—watching how ink blooms when it meets water, observing how charcoal responds to pressure, you end up having a dialogue with your materials. And this conversation becomes a meditation itself. The end result being imperfect tea vessels with emotional impressions of that conversation.
Creating Your Own Meditative Art Practice
Artistic creation and tea rituals share remarkable qualities as mindfulness practices. Both invite us to:
Slow down and engage fully with the present moment
Balance control and surrender as part of the creative experience
Find beauty in familiar objects seen with fresh attention
Return to the practice regularly to develop deeper understanding
For those wishing to develop their own meditative art practice, consider beginning with objects that carry personal meaning. Tea vessels—with their functional beauty and cultural significance—offer rich subject matter for artistic exploration. Begin with simple tools and intentional observation, allowing each mark to be made with purpose and presence.
The Richness of Returning
Both art-making and tea preparation offer sanctuaries of meaning—spaces where time shifts quality, senses awaken, and we reconnect with tangible experiences in an increasingly digital world. The striped patterns in these tea studies evoke not only visual rhythm but also the lineage of tea cultivation in terraced hillsides that have shaped landscapes and cultures for centuries.
Some questions to consider for your own mixed media experiments into mindfulness:
What daily ritual might become your gateway to creative mindfulness?
Which familiar objects might reveal new dimensions when observed through an attentive artistic lens?
A relaxed mind, original art and a new workspace
"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." - Chinese Proverb
The last few months have seen an interesting internal shifting of things. It comes as I am reading more about plants, discovered diffused-mode of thinking and connecting more to nature. On top of this, I have been receiving some Energy work from my good friend and Energy practioner, Abueng Nalebi. Embracing what might seem an obstacle, as part of the path, the way, or at least as a path of least resistance. I recently got a new table and a dedicated space for my art-making in our shared office/studio room with my husband. It's a mess at the moment, but a beautiful, inspiring one.
I’ve also had more time to experiment and work with the mineral pigments I’ve photographed below. Creating my own watercolors was much more therapeutic than I expected. I especially loved the ultramarine blue (and have shared videos of it on Instagram and pinterest).
DIY Archival grade artists watercolor: Combine Gum Arabic powder, Honey, hot water and earth pigment. Let it set for 3-5 days.
With these new handmade watercolors, I’ve stepped on a journey of creating original works of art. I am starting small, at 8x10”, works on paper. Using masking fluid also to create interesting effects. The new works shown here will be listed on Minted’s ‘Direct from Artist’ marketplace. Below, you can also see some photos of my process.
Before it got too cold to venture outside for long walks, I was able to do some foraging in our local nature reserve and our own garden to collect some source material. Using ultramarine blue and gold mica, the effect was really nice.
Even though I enjoy the focus of drawing and painting realistically, I find real relaxation and comfort in my free-form marking making sketchbook doodles. Both are really necessary I think for cultivating skill and technique, but mark-making is really just so enjoyable.
Mindful materials, seasons and the garden.
"The more we understand the interconnectedness of all life, the more we realize that our own well-being is intimately linked to the well-being of the planet." - David Suzuki
Collage: Scanned garden pickings + black ink sketches
The last few months I've been looking for art materials that are safe to use around little ones, especially oil paints. I thought I needed to use turpentine and mineral spirits for thinning the paints and for cleaning brushes for working with oils, but those solvents are toxic and give off a terrible smell that put me off oil paints a long time ago. After doing some googling, I found a company called "Natural Earth paints" that source powered minerals from small, family-owned quarries from around the world. They list the country where each mineral pigment is harvested, mostly France, Italy and the US.
Scanned garden pickings on black background
Reading about how the company started is very interesting, as the founder, a mother and an artist, wanted to continue her art while she was pregnant with her first child, yet couldn't find art materials that were truly non-toxic. Her story really resonated as I would like to more deeply continue my art, but in a way that is better for not only my own health, but for the wellbeing of the earth, my children and future generations. Being mindful about the materials I use really matters. Though I am just one person, I do know choice matters and making choices in the direction you would like to see things grow, can still be impactful.
At the end of March, I purchased some mineral pigments, gum arabic powder (to use when making your own watercolors) and the walnut oil to use for making oil paints. I haven't had a lot of time to experiment, but so far I can say that it is very therapeutic to make your own paints. The textural quality, the slowing down for mixing and seeing how different minerals response to walnut oil or the honey/water/gum arabic powder(for watercolors), has been surprising relaxing and fascinating. Everything has slowed down, but in a good way.
Digital illustration with local Autumn leaves (Nagoya)
For a long time now, I have always looked at nature for inspiration and relaxation. It has always been there in my work, in some textural or allusive way. More recently I have been noticing how beautiful the random things that grow in our garden are. And as the season changes, the form of the garden change, and its need for water, sunlight and attention change too. These changes are inherent, in my being too. There is an intrinsic interplay of birth, life, death and rebirth that is more evident both outwardly and inwardly, when seasons change.
Becoming more conscious and intentional about the materials I use to create my art, helps me connect to a larger identity that is concerned about the well-being of the natural world. Water-based paints and natural pigments sourced from sustainable quarries helps alleviate some of the eco-anxiety that I think we all experience in our collective consciousness. Art can remain the place for introspection, emotional release and solace as I commit to the mindful use of materials, and foster a deeper sense of well-being through self-expression.
Brushstroke art - Intention, breath and gesture
"The brushstroke becomes the sign of the human presence. Every hand is different." - Willem de Kooning
It's been awhile since I picked up my calligraphy brush. When I was learning Japanese calligraphy in Minami-kashiwa (Tokyo), my Japanese was not very good and my teacher's English was probably about the same level. But she was very demonstrative and passionate about how to use and care for a calligraphy brush. And I was a very eager student. She was particularly very adamant about how to lift a brush at the end of a stroke. Depending on the Chinese character, the way to lift was different. Sometimes she would compare the effect for certain characters to appear light and feathery, resembling pampas grass. For other characters, a sharp, flicking motion that creates a more dramatic effect.
"Birds in Flight - Flock study " - Japanese calligraphy brush and black ink on paper.
In Japanese calligraphy, the practice of writing with a brush is highly focused and intentional. Practitioners must consider their posture, breath, and the placement of their hands and feet in order to create the perfect strokes. This awareness of the body helps to aid in concentration, allowing the calligrapher to create precise, elegant characters that demonstrate the fluidity and beauty of the brushstroke.
Through all those lessons, one important lesson that emerged is the value of breathing. It is important to remember to breathe when creating, to help maintain focus and control over the brushstroke. There were definitely many times during practice when I held my breath, and the tense energy showed in the strokes. When we hold our breath, we can become tense and lose our sense of flow and fluidity, which can affect the quality of our work.
“Inkling”
"I'm very interested in the gesture, in the way that the brushstroke or mark can be an act of memory or intention." - Julie Mehretu
The brushstroke is a powerful tool that can convey emotion, energy, and movement. It is always unique to the individual and can reveal the artist's personal touch and style. It is an important human element in art, and how the physical act of painting can create a connection between the artist and the viewer.
By taking the time to focus on our breath and the physical act of creating with the brush, we can convey our emotions, memories, and intentions, creating depth and a rich and dynamic visual language.
"Birds in Flight - Upwards " - Japanese calligraphy brush and black ink on paper.
Connection to Nature and BCorp companies
“Arashiyama Foliage”
I think for all artists, there is a subconscious and even conscious unease about how we as a human population are living on the planet. On a collective level, artists can feel some sort of inner turmoil that doesn’t alway stem from an obvious cause, but I believe it is rooted in a disconnection to our natural environment, a disconnection to our responsibilities towards mother earth, and thus a kind of disconnect from our spiritual selves.
“Urban Origami”
For the last few months, I have been wondering how I can cretae an art business that is purpose driven and connected to changing the drivers that run the current economic system. In 2011, I was living in Tokyo and on March 11 experienced the huge earthquake that caused the tsunami and devastated the Tohoku area and rocked the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. That whole experience and what followed, basically confirmed in me, the feelings of responsibility I had for doing something for the planet. At that time, my partner (now husband) and I both had the same feeling to start something that could create meaningful change, to improve how we treat the planet, and in turn improve how more vulnerable and disadvantaged global communities were experiencing daily life. We co-founded Viri Fide, a fairtrade organic cotton t-shirt brand. Back in 2011, most people only heard of organic as related to food, and not fashion or apparel. It was also not commonly offered by bigger fashion brands. So as a small business, we focused on offering this to consumers at fair events in Tokyo, Yokohama and Nagoya. We did this over 3 years and found that we were part of a small movement that pushed organic cotton and the benefits of sourcing cotton this way to farmers and their communities, into mainstream awareness and consumer demand. Although we were a small brand, and may have had minimal impact, I think collectively that helped create a need for bigger brands to cater to consumers who were more aware of their purchasing power.
“Home-Roots”
With art, I have a similar need to somehow connect it to a purpose that can create meaningful and measurable change. Through some researching, I came across to BLab and BCorp companies. They collaborate with Fairtrade International, the world’s most recognized label for social justice and sustainability to improve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through responsible business practices, sustainable supply chains, and corporate transparency. I think transparency is so important and appreciate how there is a section about controversial issues, their position on them and ways to implement and move towards positive change. There are also tools to measure positive impact and certification that companies need to achieve to become a BCorp company, it certainly is not easy!
So finding an art platform on the Bcorp search tool, was very exciting. The art platform is called Artrepreneur and it earned an overall score of 114.5. The median score for ordinary businesses who complete the assessment is currently 50.9. To become certified, a company needs to achieve a score of 80 on the Overall B Impact assessment. There is quite a lot of information on the BCorp site that I am slowly wading through. For Artrepreneur, their mission as a purpose-driven business, is to help artists succeed and elevate everyone's life with art. They don’t take commissions on sales of originals and also provide a high quality Giclee shop for prints. I am still exploring it but find it a very useful resource so far. I enjoy the weekly open calls and the helpful information about selling art. I have also submitted some art and found it very exciting to get some of my works approved for their curated Giclee shop as well as being selected by curators to appear on the curated section.
Curated picks
The artwork I have posted in this post links to my recently added profile on the Artpreneur website here. I was very happy to find this platform, although it’s still early days, its been a good source of art information and inspiring to see the works of other global artists. The process of adding artworks and entering Open calls has also been a good experience. I am excited to continue to add some of my more experimental works as well as my explorations on environmental, philosophical and spiritual aspects of modern life.
Where does inspiration come from?
Sometimes a simple word has the power to open up the mind, unlocking doors that you didn’t know were there and didn’t realise were locked. Art has a similar power, and plays with the subconscious levels that stir something in you and either push you into action, or creates a feeling that sits dormant until the right conditions arrive, allowing it to blossom in some form.
I can recall two particular instances where I felt I found a key that opened up a new perspective. Both instances occurred in an art gallery. There are many, many more instances that have also happened outside of an art gallery, but in this post I am going to highlight just two, as I can see a clear correlation between that moment I saw that work of art, and the art I started to make after that. There is a real clear source of inspiration.
Morohashi Museum of Modern Art, Fukushima
The first instance happened in the Morohashi Museum in Fukushima, Japan. My husband and I visited here in 2013 as I was a huge admirer of Dali, and this was the only permanent exhibition of Dali's art in Asia. It’s a bit of a unique place and is not opened during the colder months of winter. The heavy snowfall in the colder season hinders access to the museum so it is shut for all of that time. You can read more about the place here https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1742/
Portrait of Ana Maria Dali
Salvador Dali (1926), Pencil on paper
There are a lot of Dali’s significant works housed here, included large oil paintings, bronze sculptures and lithograph prints. But the one artwork that I couldn’t walk away from was the “Portrait of Ana Maria Dali” (1926), in pencil on paper. There was a marked gentleness, light-handed use of graphite, a tenderness that really touched me and made me see the importance of a light-touch for pencil drawings. I had always thought I had to be forceful and hard with pencil drawings, because that’s what I learnt about contour drawing in art class. Seeing this piece gave me permission to be light-handed and gentle in my own drawings. There was also an obvious contrast between this sketch and all the other surrealist works, large sculptures and flamboyant furniture. It felt to me, a tender and vulnerable side of Dali that was very different to the showman persona he had for the public audience.
A pencil sketch shortly after visiting the Morohashi Museum. I still struggled with a heavy hand…
Seeing that portrait in person, there was a light energy that can’t really be captured through a screen. I pushed me forward into exploring a lighter hand with pencil drawings. I spent hours drawing from references books, and finally found paper and pencils that I liked to work with to get a similar feel of energy. Some of the drawings are below.
Collection of Animals, Pencil on paper
The second experience I had was at the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in Aichi, Japan. We visited here in 2016 and it was a beautiful exhibition space. I didn’t know much about it but a few of my students in Nagoya recommended it. This is the place I discovered Lee Ufan. Walking through the gallery, there is a turning space where you enter a large room with his “Correspondence” pieces. I honestly felt like I had entered a vibrating room, the feeling was visceral. I stayed in that room for a long time. I only learnt about his process and Korean dansaekhwa art afterwards. But it was the first time I had experienced simplicity so powerfully. It was very much a deep-rooted feeling that is hard to explain. The brushstrokes were so beautiful and felt like they were communicating to each other from the walls. After seeing these works, I really wanted to learn more about Lee Ufan and his process. I was delighted to see Youtube videos of him (though only very short ones or very long ones in Korean). He spends a lot of time thinking and practicing the brushstrokes before the final delivery. There is a lot of energy emitting from those brushstrokes, something metaphysical and even spiritual. I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon his works and to see the paintings in real-life as opposed to on a screen. It was an experience.
Mark Making - Origami Frottage
Frottage: A technique that involves rubbing pencil, graphite, chalk, crayon, or another medium onto a sheet of paper that has been placed on top of a textured object or surface. The process causes the raised portions of the surface below to be translated to the sheet. The term is derived from the French frotter, which means ‘to rub’. - MoMA
I recently discovered Sydney based printmaker Annarie Hildebrand and her gorgeous collography prints. She uses everyday objects to create her beautifully composed still life artworks. They are stunning and have intimate textures and depth. It inspired me to find new ways of creating texture and depth, from materials in everyday life.
I started playing around with pencil rubbings, using my graphite pencil over textured things around me. There were some lemon tree leaves, a fern, some other leaves and origami that my little one made. The leaves left a simple natural imprint that was beautiful, but it was the origami that was really interesting for me. The lines of the folds, the play of smooth and rough, the architectural feel of the imprints was more beautiful than I expected.
After scanning the rubbings onto my computer, it seemed appropriate to use them for digital collaging. With some initial ideas like the three below, it felt that a minimal aesthetic could be achieved while maintaining some warmth from the graphite.
To explore further, I thought how would these look as ‘paper houses’ . Continuing with the collaging effect, using simple elements, the above two were created. And to explore further, using color, concepts of homes and pet architecture (the inbetween buildings on unusually shaped lots of land, especially in Tokyo) the geometric digital collage below came out of this process.
Inbetween buildings - ‘Pet Architecture’
Thank you for reading my last art blog post for 2022. I’d like to wish you a joyful Christmas and a happy, healthy and creative New Year! Take good care of yourself and see you in 2023!
Inter-being and Lunar Energies
"The flower is full of everything. There is the sunshine inside, there is the cloud inside. The earth, the minerals. Even our consciousness, is inside the flower. Time, space, everything. It looks like everything in the cosmos have come together, in order to help the flower to manifest as a wonder" - Thich Nhat Hahn
Since doing the floral challenge in September, I have been looking at flowers a little differently, in much more appreciation and wonder. For all their beauty, they are resilient too. I still remember how when the cherry blossoms started to bloom in Fukushima after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, there was such a sense of hope even after all of the devastion and fear from the nuclear power plants. Flowers have that kind of power. Even in all of their delicateness.
After working with flowers, in October and earlier this month, I started working a lot with digital charcoal and pencil and gravitated to creating a lot of moon themed artwork. It was only after the fact that I realised that there had been a full lunar eclipse here in Perth on 8th November! I've often found myself feeling strong pulls in a certain direction or feeling odd and out of sorts, and when I've gone to check in with the astrology at the time, there is often something going on with the planets and moon that I feel explains all of those feelings. And it's always a relief to know that it's not some kind of craziness, but planetary energies instead.
There is actually a lot of anecdotal evidence how the lunar phases affects us humans. It's already known how the moon affects the waves in the ocean, but even us humans, made up of 80% or so of water, are often affected in ways that we probably don't perceive.
Even in gardening, there are permaculture principles around how to improve yields when planting by the moon. As the moon has an influence on surface tension of liquids, this can affect how plants take up water from the soil through their roots. And how much water comes up can affect the wetness of the soil that is a precondition for new seeds to germinate. The benefits of moon planting is mostly to reduce or eliminate the need for additional fertilizers, which is great for organic edible crops. And from what I have read about moon planting, like a lot of ancient practices, it is having a bit of a modern-day resurgence. Maybe a lot more people are feeling the lunar energies these days!
Beginner's Mind and Art Therapy
“Shoshin is a concept from Zen Buddhism meaning beginner’s mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advance level, just as a beginner would” - Wikipedia
I recently took part in an instagram art challenge to create 20 floral artworks in 20 days. It was put together by Victoria Johnson and Jennifer Orkin Lewis (both very talents artists and designers) and included experimental and interesting daily prompts like “Paint two or more anemones in oddball colors’ and “Tissue paper collage a flower with watery glue, cut out individual petals and let them overlap so you can see layers of transparency and opacity’. At the time of this challenge, I was trying out a lot of things on Procreate and so decided to try and use the app for all of the daily prompts.
20 images of florals in different ways, using digital app Procreate
I am still very much a beginner at using the digital painting tool, so it was really fun experimenting and trying ways to interpret the daily prompts in a digital way. Some were really challenging like the collage type prompt, but that also ended up being one of my most favourite illustrations.
Digital collage flower, textured and minimal
The watery butterfly was the most difficult to do digitally and I’m not sure if I liked the result. But I did learn more about using the oil paint and turpentine brushes and discovering the charcoal and 6B pencil tools was very exciting as these are mediums I love. The anemones prompt from Day 5 spawned three abstracts in the same tea and coffee colors. I used oil paints, charcoal, ink and pencil to create layers and layers of texture. It was a very satisfying experience!
Neutral brown hues: tea and coffee coloured art, digital paintings
It was a lot of fun experimenting and using Procreate for this floral challenge. It’s been a great tool to keep being creative, which is like therapy really, a respite from the grind of everyday life. And although I am not very good at posting daily on instagram, it was really cool and inspiring to see all of the original artwork created daily by so many other talented artists and designers who joined the challenge. I think we all had a bit of what Shunryu Suzuki describes in “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” as non-gaining mind, when there is no gaining idea and you just do something, not because it’s the means to an end, but because of the joy it creates. Even if your watery butterfly didn’t turn out so well, it was still a lot of fun.
Becoming a Minted Artist
“Benevolent Ceramics” Collection
This year seems to be the year of entering contests.
And getting used to school drop-offs and pickups.
And finding time and ways to keep this art thing/practice/business going.
I submitted the above 5 works as part of the Pairs and Sets contest held by Minted - a US based art and design marketplace that sources art from independent artists like me. They have a global design community of talented artists and designers that take part in challenges or contests. When you submit your designs to the contest, they are then voted on by the design community and some are also chosen by the editor to be part of the new collection. It's free to take part in and a great experience to see other artists work, especially fellow artists and designers that you admire.
I have been wanting to draw teapots, cups, mugs and other pottery/ ceramic / earthenware things for a while now, but didn't really know why. At the time that this contest was open, I was also taking Victoria Johnson's 5 week 'Create Collections' course that was focused on birds, blooms and butterflies. You can see some of my course work on my instagram account. And I have to credit that course with giving me the confidence to work with color and subjects that I love. It helped me when I created the works above. It is a great course, and very good for the analytical artist and designers out there that love good explanations that really sink in. Victoria Johnson's work is stunning and I am a huge fan, if you see her painting and creating on her instagram account @victoriajohnsondesign , you will see a true artist at work. I feel I learn so much just by watching her videos!
Of the 5 works from above, can you guess which two were selected by the Editors at Minted that qualified me to become a Minted artist? Maybe the title of this post gives you a hint.....? It was a & d ! How did you go? What would you have chosen?
I have since reworked the 'Giving Bowl' and added a 'Generosity Jug'. I think I will also work on a vase, a smaller teapot and cups and try working with patterned surfaces like in the teapot sketches above. Using hand drawn elements, procreate and photoshop. They will become a collection of vignettes with vivid imagery focused on the benevolent, good-willed nature of simple things. And exclusive to my newly opened Minted shop:
https://www.minted.com/store/o/dyabeygoda
A nice thing I am learning about Minted, besides their beautiful modern aesthetic, is how they are committed to more sustainable practices for the long haul, which is always a concern when it comes to paper products. They work with paper suppliers like Mohawk that source FSC ( 'Forest Stewardship Council' ) certified premium papers and whose production is being shifted to carbon neutral through wind powered Renewable Energy Credits. They are also using some interesting materials like recycled coffee bags, recycled water bottles, corn and potato-based materials for more sustainable packaging. I think they are still at the beginning stages of all this, but it is definitely a good thing!