Apr 16, 2020
Artist Ruby Silvious – Teabag Art – Albany Institute of History and Art 2020 Exhibit
Artist Branding and Public Exhibit Video
We were introduced to artist Ruby Silvious through our talented artist friend, Ryan Lewis Merritt. Ruby Silvious is an internationally-renowned artist known for her teabag paintings and origami art. We were instantly fascinated by the beautiful way Ruby portrays little slivers of daily life. Her talent combined with her take on the world is refreshing and thought-provoking.
When we first connected, Ruby’s upcoming six-month-long exhibit at Albany Institute of History & Art was on the horizon. Within that exhibit, AIHA gave Ruby the option to have a video play on loop to accompany her work. We are grateful she reached out and chose us to create one for her.
From our very first chat over the phone, it was apparent how kind, generous, and full of life Ruby is. The following week, we eagerly walked into her studio for the first time. We were in awe of her sunlit-washed studio space, which, when not on exhibit, is full of her individual original works on display.
To accompany her exhibit, Ruby wanted to show the public how she creates her unique tea bag art. Instead of adding voice or text to the video (which we all agreed would detract from its beauty), we let the visuals of the process tell the story all by itself. We used natural audio captured throughout the process to accompany the scenes. We also crafted a light music score to move with the imagery.
Over the course of an afternoon, we captured Ruby Silvious as she transformed an everyday bag of tea into a bite-sized work of art. Ruby’s process starts by - you guessed it! - brewing a cup of tea. From there, Ruby dries and empties the teabag to reveal a miniature canvas, one with its very own texture and color created by the colors of the tea leaves previously held within. From there, Ruby’s creative opportunities are limitless. For our filming session, she chose to paint a delicate scene of birch trees. Ruby sent us home with an armful of different boxes of teas from around the world and a copy of her book so we can revisit her work whenever we wish, a gift we will always treasure.
Working with Ruby on this project finally gave us the perfect opportunity to visit AIHA ourselves. It was one of our greatest pleasures of the year to see the video on display alongside Ruby’s incredible work.
We encourage you to see and learn more about Ruby Silvious and her art at www.RubySilvious.com.
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