The redwing blackbirds are back in the wetland at the park near my house, and coincidentally, I found this tea painting I made while sorting through some old sketchbooks, so I thought I’d do a post on the Three Perfections.
Song Dynasty scholars called the arts of painting, calligraphy, and poetry the “Three Perfections,” which they performed and appreciated while drinking tea. As I’ve posted previously, tea ceremony emerged as an important cultural practice during this dynasty, with beautiful, minimalist wares crafted expressly for the purpose.
When I started collecting Song-style tea wares, I wanted to enjoy them as they were meant to be enjoyed, not just put them on a shelf. But obviously I needed to be careful with them, and so I wanted to involve them in moments that were slow and memorable. I started drinking from my tea bowls while doing seasonal watercolor paintings that incorporated calligraphy and poetry and also mixed some actual green tea (matcha—which is roughly what they would have drunk in the Song Dynasty) into the paints. If you look closely at the paintings, you can see the distinctive color coming through.
The Rookery 