秋豐,冬眠 - AUTUMN ABUNDANCE WINTER REST
Featured Mini Exhibition with work by Helen Kong + Amanda Rataj
Located at ICHA TEA (235 Spadina)
Oct 5th to Nov 5th 2024
This is the second edition of seasonal mini exhibitions and workshop series presented by SECRET TEATIME at ICHA TEA. The first exhibition was in March April 2024 titled “春色,夏彩 - SPRING COLOURS SUMMER HUES” exhibiting both artists’ sentimental wanders in their own living environment and sharing their nature observations in their pieces. They come together again for the autumn winter collection exploring the themes of abundance and rest. Autumn Abundance is related to the rich colours and harvest, expressing gratitude, and the preparation for the cold season coming. Winter Rest explores the different means of rest and the necessity of it for our human bodies and in nature.
AMANDA RATAJ
Artist - Educator
Amanda Rataj is an artist and weaver living and working in Hamilton, Ontario. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design University and has developed her contemporary craft practice through research-
based projects, artist residencies, and exhibitions. Amanda is a contract lecturer in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Fashion program and has been an educator at the Art Gallery of Ontario for over a decade.
Recent exhibitions include Generation at Craft Ontario as part of the Design TO festival (2023), Crosscurrents: Canada In the Making at the Textile Museum of Canada (2018), and Nothing is Newer Than Tradition (Art Gallery of Burlington, 2017).
IN THIS EXHIBITION:
For this collection of tea textiles, I wanted to create work that opposed the colourful, textured work I created for Spring Colours - Summer Hues. Considering the first half of the theme, Autumn Abundance, I wove four tea mats using a palette of naturally dyed colours in thin, delicate cotton and linen. Natural dyes create a beautiful warm, living palette that speaks to the browns, golds, orange and rust of autumn. I used flowers such as marigolds, food waste like onion skins, and “weeds” like dandelions to dye the yarn for these mats. As they are used in your tea practice, the colours may shift, fade, or change slightly, another gentle reminder to enjoy autumn’s abundance while it lasts.
For Winter Rest, I created ten tea cloths using a lace weaving technique, thinking of the furrows and drifts of snow
that will form in a few short months. There are many types of snow, but I tried to mimic my favourite type with
these cloths: thin, slightly transparent, with marks from wind and plants. Just as snow looks white from a distance
but contains many colours up close, I used a palette of natural and bleached “white” yarns for the tea cloths.
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(MOON YING) HELEN KONG
Artist - Tea Student/Practitioner - Educator
Helen Kong is the owner of Secret Teatime, a clay maker space located in Scarborough where people play with clay and sip tea. She studied the Ontario College of Art & Design and during her period of living abroad in Japan, she immersed herself in the study of ritualized tea. Since then, she has been focusing on creating work that are influenced by her studies in Japanese and Chinese tea. It is expressed through handmade tea wares, multi-sensory experiences, and teaching. She also has collaborated with local artists, tea people and food establishments in the city. Recent projects include the “Ichigo-Ichie Tea Project” for Nuit Blanche TO 2022 (as organizer and artist), “Meeting for Teas” residency at the Banff Centre 2023 (as a resident artist), “Midsummer Tea Salon” Pop-up at Gallery 222 (as co-curator, artist, and tea facilitator), “In One Chawan” summer 2024, an ongoing seasonal food and tea experience with Deporated Seafood (co-facilitator).
IN THIS EXHIBITION:
For this collection of work, I wanted to contrast from the flora of the Spring Summer collection. As person that has Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and is heavily affected during the colder and darker seasons, autumn winter are times where I sit with the darker parts of me in search for light.
In the “Tally Marks” collection, I explore counting as a means to mark abundance. What are we counting? It can be things we harvested in our little gardens, the number of peaches eaten this year, the number of days I got out of bed before noon, or how many days I’ve decided that it’s ok to take it easy and rest?
This led to the thought of “日日是好日 - Everyday’s a Good Day” a common phrase on a calligraphic scroll displayed in the tea room as the theme/reminder in Chado. It is to remind us that we get something out of every day we live even if the day is challenging.
“Hugs + Kisses” is a series where I scribble “X”s and “O”s expressing my need for warm affection in these dark cold months.
In “Grounded” and “Shedded Bark” I connect and learn from nature. Autumn in Toronto is where the leaves change
colour the green has its last bursts before it goes into the much needed hibernation in order to grow again in spring.
Sleep is one my essential forms of rest. In “Dreams” I explore that space where I am in dreamland, where there is
light and vast space for me to just be and imagine freely.
EVENTS WITH SECRET TEATIME AT ICHA TEA
For All Levels
MATCHA TUESDAYS AT
ICHA TEA BAR
enjoy a dose of matcha with
Helen Kong
Helen Kong, an ongoing student and tea practitioner of Chado (the Japanese Way of Tea) and ceramic teaware artist will host Matcha Tuesdays at the Icha Tea Bar. This is a casual tea making process where attendees can interact conversationally and experience the matcha and an accompanying sweet. If you are curious about matcha, the wares and tools, how to care for them, and how to create a simple routine of making and drinking mindfully, this is a quick and brief engagement to learn.
Available Tuesdays Oct 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov 5 (closing of the exhibition) - 3:00-7:00PM
Usucha (thin tea): $14
Koicha (thick tea): $20
IN ONE TEABOWL AT
ICHA TEA
with Carina Fung and
Secret Teatime chawan
Finding a mindful moment doesn't have to be complex or time consuming. All you need is a bowl, some tea and hot water. In the workshop we will discover our unique relation to the rituals of drinking tea nd the understanding of the spiritual connections we have with our drinking vessels and how it can help us discover clarity, reflection and calmness in our minds. In engaging in a bowl of tea we can find a moment of peace. This workshop is co-facilitated by Carina Fung and Helen Kong.
Sunday Oct 20, 11am-12:30pm
RSVP required
(MAKE YOUR) TEACUP WORKSHOP AT
ICHA TEA
create 2 small teacups with
Helen Kong
Make a pair of little ceramic tea cups (or sake cups) with pinching and handbuilding techniques. You can create surface designs by marbling clay, creating texture through carving or stamping, or painting on coloured underglaze. Once you finish your creations, you can choose a glaze colour and then Helen will transport your piece back to her Scarborough studio to finish and fire the them. Pick up will be available at Icha Tea or the Secret Teatime studio in 3-8 weeks.
Sunday Oct 27 - 11am-2pm
Fee: $98
RSVP Required