Caroline West, 49, began painting on tea bags in August 2023 as sustainability has always been something she is passionate about, and has depicted everything from popular landmarks including Stonehenge to nature scenes on the unique canvas. She has painted around 70 tea bags and counting, and said it takes between an hour to and hour and a half to complete a creation, depending on the level of detail. “I really love the idea of just taking something that you would normally discard or throw away and then transforming it into a work of art and giving it another lease of life,” Mrs West, who is based in Waterlooville, in Hampshire, told the PA news agency.
“I just think we’re all so busy all the time and it is hard to take the time to slow down and notice the beauty in the everyday things that are often taken for granted. “I liked the idea of using tea bags as a way to turn something mundane into something beautiful.” The process begins by drying out used tea bags – which can take a few days – cutting them up, scraping out all the tea and ironing them flat.
The edges are then cut off, the tea bag is placed on backing paper, a base layer is applied and then the art can begin using acrylic paint. “It’s quite a process because you’ve got to wait for that to fully dry because the tea bags are quite absorbent,” she added. “Then, you just gradually build up the layers, tape them up at the ends, take it off the backing paper and hope it doesn’t tear and swea.
