Tea Ceremony Engagement Project: Emile Norman Arts Foundation Artist Residency Big Sur, CA 2023
The tea ceremony gathered over 150 members of the Big Sur coastal region to meet in nature to encourage gratitude of the land and to foster a connection between people and place. The Tea Ceremony was held as a cumulation of a multi-staged community effort to harvest, process, and shape tea cups from local clay. Local inhabitants joined in the process from digging to finished cup.
The bilingual (Spanish/English) ceremony provided space for the varied local population and visitors. With a land acknowledgement given by Daniela Hinman, who works closely with the local Esselen indigenous tribe, and three rounds of locally grown tea, the emphasis was on inclusion. The ceremony began with a guided mediation based on the alchemy of personal change as mirrored by the ceramic-making process. Three rounds of tea were offered: the 1st to recognize the land, the 2nd to acknowledge neighbors, and the 3rd to honor oneself. After the drinking of the tea, the cups were gathered and returned to the land in which the clay was harvested. The Earth will further compost the intentions set during the ceremony.
The bilingual (Spanish/English) ceremony provided space for the varied local population and visitors. With a land acknowledgement given by Daniela Hinman, who works closely with the local Esselen indigenous tribe, and three rounds of locally grown tea, the emphasis was on inclusion. The ceremony began with a guided mediation based on the alchemy of personal change as mirrored by the ceramic-making process. Three rounds of tea were offered: the 1st to recognize the land, the 2nd to acknowledge neighbors, and the 3rd to honor oneself. After the drinking of the tea, the cups were gathered and returned to the land in which the clay was harvested. The Earth will further compost the intentions set during the ceremony.