Tasseography Textiles at Ocean Studios Oct 2023.
Print in Action March 2024
TALK at Ocean Studios 3rd October 2023
Hello, thanks for coming … I’m Becky. I’m a multi-disciplinary textile designer creating textile interior art through a people driven process. I draw from a UK, Chinese and Colombian heritage, infusing my creations with a vibrant cultural mosaic of stories, tales and togetherness. My textile and fashion work is nearing 15 years experience in the textile industry and 13 as a lecturer at Arts University Plymouth. Previous to this, in my first life, I worked as a youth and community worker, focused on personal journeys, self-development, group cohesion and helping individuals discover areas of themselves that would improve their life, from small participations in workshops through to finding a home - diversity, communication and ‘listening to understand’ have always been central to my engagement ethics. Today, my artist practice works on many levels, drawing from a personal diverse cultural heritage, my previous and current work experiences, an exploration of ‘otherness’, dopamine creating, inclusivity, transparency, reducing exclusivity and sharing ways of finding our creative selves through a recognisable, fun interaction. I communicate and share an art practice, to help people find their own joy in creating. This makes me happy.
At the core of my current practice lies a participatory design process (meaning - working together), using the art of Tasseography, commonly known as tea leaf reading. It's a captivating, ritualistic performance that introduces a set of creative tools, fostering a shared language between myself and my participants. This collaborative approach reimagines the designer-client relationship, emphasising mutual input and decision-making. Together, we explore individual spirit and well-being through the medium of textile art.
Since October 2019 I have had the privilege of collaborating with 54 participants. Together, we have ventured into the realms of future, community, togetherness, and spirit, using divination as a means of visualisation, narration, and interpretation. The tea leaf readings are a generative process, a departure from conventional design methodologies, focusing on the creation of tools that enable non-designers, and designers, an opportunity to express their dreams and for the future while making bold abstracted design plans.
Tasseography, or tea leaf reading, offers a method of divination, utilising intuitive skills to discern signs and symbols within a teacup. Much like cloud watching, the tea leaves reveal familiar or unexpected shapes, a poetic dance that echoes Joseph Beuys' timeless proclamation, "Every living being is an artist." Through this process, I empower participants, irrespective of their artistic background, to delve into idea generation, symbol analysis, and color exploration within a single session. This collaborative approach transforms our interactions into a beautiful dance of creativity. It's about transparency, inclusivity, and bringing out the best in each participant. Everyone gets to envision their own unique textile artwork, a colourful representation of themselves.
As we sit for a tea leaf reading, participants engage in the socially connective act of creation. Central to this process is a tea leaf dictionary, a visual lexicon I have crafted to serve as a guiding tool. The process includes a user-generated color palette and employs a multi-media collage approach using foam, felt, painted papers, and colored papers. The choice of papers evolve over the years.
The process unfolds as follows:
Participants engage in a tea leaf reading session.
Signs, symbols, and shapes observed in the tea are recorded in a design journal.
The Tea Leaf Dictionary is consulted to analyze and select pleasing shapes.
Based on the number of signs and symbols, participants choose a color palette.
Abstract shapes are crafted, resulting in three design plans that are shared with the participant.
The selected design is brought to life through embroidery, knitting, and a larger tufted and tapestry artwork.
This participatory design process transforms our interactions into a ritualistic dance, infusing intrigue into the act of sipping tea. It offers a transparent, readable, and inclusive approach to design, enabling each of the 54 participants to envision their bespoke textile artwork—a representation of their abstract selves.
As I navigate this artistic journey, I am compelled by a dual sense of hope and anxiety for our planet. The act of tapestry weaving emerges as an antidote to mindless consumption—a slow, meditative process that transcends conventional textile production cycles, and keeps me away from the repetitiveness of mindless scrolling through a fast digital world. The act of weaving gives me time to ponder our planet, think deeply about what I can do to enable a more connected, peaceful existence and how I can find ways to protect, illuminate and discuss our future ecologies, finding magic in the spaces between facts and truth. My practice explores what is seen, what is felt, what is visioned. If you haven’t explored the writings of Timothy Morton, or James Lovelock, I highly recommend these two philosophers.
Through the tasseography textile process of art co-creation I have seen the power of play — the wellspring of creativity that resides within each of us. As we reconnect with the child within, we embark on a personal journey of discovery, and for some to seek Earth spirit, the essence of place, and the adventurous spirits that echo through our internal and physical landscapes.
In a recent residency, through spirit findings and future-hunting activities, I had the joy of uncovering some of the shimmering souls that inhabit Southcombe Barn (seen in the Hopeful Child weaving - the big pink one) From automatic writing to tea leaf readings, each activity wove a tapestry of spirit energy and enthusiasm.
Together as we continue on our creative paths, let us embrace the amorphous and the ridiculous, seeking inspiration from esoteric interpretations of signs and symbols. Together, we weave futures, celebrating the vibrant tapestry of individuality and self-expression, while coming together to find joy in the spaces in-between, the unhurried, the deep breaths and the quiet chatter of focused play.
Thank you for coming on this journey with me, as we explore the intricate dance between art, spirit, and the magic that resides within.