Art for June

This is a belated announcement : we thought we had sent the newsletter out earlier, but it must have got stuck in an internet traffic jam! Anyway, we are very proud this month to be displaying the colorful, rich paintings of Dr. Sheng Kuan Chung.

Dr. Sheng Kuan Chung was born to a working-class family in a small village in Taiwan. His parents were hard-working farmers who spent most of their life on the farm. As a child, helping his parents on the farm occupied most of Chung’s extracurricular and weekend activities. Chung’s interest in art was triggered in elementary school when he would copy pictures off of kitchen tiles, which gave him a certain inexplicable comfort. Chung discovered at that time the power of drawing, because it helped him gain self-confidence and communicate with the outside world. This realization motivated him to pursue his passion for art. Through drawing and painting, Chung was able to express his gratitude toward his parents and the place where he was raised, gratitude he could not have otherwise articulated. Dr. Chung teaches in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston, Texas.

His art exhibit at Té is titled "Aesthetics of De-habitualization", and you can read more about Dr. Chung's approach to art on our Exhibits page.

Other News

When I was a kid, I excitedly remember visits to grandma's house and being rewarded with the privilege of turning the crank to the ice cream maker.  Yes, homemade ice cream!  It was of course always much more delicious than any store-bought variety, especially because it contained ingredients such as fresh-picked fruit and pride!

In response to our hot, humid summer months, our staff have been having fun making home-made ice creams and sorbets.  We blend them with fresh fruits and some of our teas.   Russian Winter Berries Tisane, for example, is a handful of dried berries and makes for a delightful and richly colored sorbet.  Refreshing!

As these are hand-made sorbets, we're making them in small batches; we sometimes run out.  We hope you want be too disappointed if we don't have any left at the end of the day :(

Tea Takes