This Artist Turns Old Tea Bags Into Stunning Paintings And People On Twitter Are In Awe
It’s one thing to be a good artist; it’s another thing entirely to be a crafty one. But Ruby Silvious manages to be both — not only are her paintings absolutely gorgeous, but they happen to be made entirely from recyclable materials. Namely, tea bags.
That’s right — what some people see as trash becomes a canvas for Ruby’s ideas. She creates her miniature portraits on discarded tea bags, and the result is somehow more stunning than it would be on paper.
Agnes is frustrated with the latest software updates | collage with watercolor #anachronism #whimsy pic.twitter.com/IZIBgekc34
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) March 4, 2018
Fret not, spring is around the corner | watercolor on used tea bag @Dilmah pic.twitter.com/X6Hg1McXoi
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) March 3, 2018
Dutch painter Jan Steen’s Grandmother checks Powerball numbers | cut images, watercolor pic.twitter.com/B0Hzvdy4DG
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 27, 2018
Fish Friday pic.twitter.com/650eQaQeNn
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 23, 2018
Seriously, just look at her paintings. There’s a certain simplicity to them, and perhaps that’s what makes them so lovely.
363 Days of Tea, day 50. Pick up a copy of the book here https://t.co/81M3isyCll pic.twitter.com/ZmTKSAnWMx
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 22, 2018
sdf
Lautrec’s failed Tinder date #swipeleft pic.twitter.com/53sli0xptw
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 18, 2018
sd
It felt good to put our feet up for a few days | watercolor and gouache on used teabags pic.twitter.com/oaZuPqfFoQ
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 17, 2018
sd
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. #whattheworldneedsnow pic.twitter.com/NerGisWke0
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 14, 2018
ds
This was so not worth wearing her best hat | cut images with watercolor pic.twitter.com/GeK4NeCOKf
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 13, 2018
sd
tea bag art or as we’d like to call it, a dip-dip kind of art https://t.co/BDKCO91MEG pic.twitter.com/lFF8UhAVqj
— Reilly & Zoe (@curatorsofquirk) February 12, 2018
sd
Degas dancers adjust the chips on their shoulders | analog collage #ladydoritos pic.twitter.com/YIoDGuI1V4
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 11, 2018
kj
Revisiting a favorite piece from last Fall | Ink, gouache and watercolor on used tea bags and egg shells pic.twitter.com/rzWexyEh40
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 9, 2018
kjh
Watercolor with pressed flowers pic.twitter.com/sixTo4zsMv
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) February 7, 2018
May your coffee/tea be strong and your Friday short #tgif @Starbucks @StarbucksUK @Tazo pic.twitter.com/a8XBhxfVP8
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) January 26, 2018
It might as well be spring | watercolor and gouache on used tea bag #lyrics @bigelowtea pic.twitter.com/OHePdkiOvJ
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) January 23, 2018
Day 350 of my visual journal: 363 Days of Tea, a coffee/tea table book now available on Amazon. Time to create the sequel. #TheForceAwakens #TheLastJedi #363daysoftea pic.twitter.com/Pu9zDwLlwV
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) December 18, 2017
She even managed to find ways to put other discarded material into her pieces, like old candy wrappers.
Three Musketeers selfie | pre-Halloween treat, collage on used tea bag pic.twitter.com/VA4SgsuXH4
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) October 12, 2017
40 Days of Art/37 Rainy Days and Hershey's #artwithoutwaste #turnyourbrokenhearttoart #creativelent pic.twitter.com/Dxq6gMIE1a
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) April 6, 2017
40 Days of Art/35 Easter candy wrapper flapper #lindtgoldbunny #twiningstea #artwithoutwaste pic.twitter.com/sR2rmTOSl6
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) April 4, 2017
And the coolest part? She used her unique paintings to commemorate her travels all over the world.
A series favorite, now in the private collection of Glatfelter, a global specialty paper manufacturer. Noepoli 2015. pic.twitter.com/tym8KQIRJK
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) August 28, 2017
26 Days of Tea in Japan/17 Kiyomisu Temple #artresidency pic.twitter.com/RIQyIkPaoy
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) June 17, 2017
26 Days of Tea in France/18 rue Charvet -one of the streets near the art residency in Hyères, France #artres pic.twitter.com/bkAgTrRnAr
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) May 23, 2017
Spring blooms in Central Park. #recycledart #stashtea https://t.co/qP6DneQ4Zp pic.twitter.com/Q61KZhwo4j
— Ruby Silvious (@RubySilvious) April 28, 2016
Let’s just say it isn’t exactly surprising that people on Twitter are in awe of Ruby’s artwork.
Wow! As an artist I am doubly impressed. https://t.co/nMriMdzD3C
— Ruth Ann Satchfield (@ruthsatchfield) March 6, 2018
So impressed by @RubySilvious' beautiful miniature paintings on teabags! 😍 https://t.co/v4WByI4BVH and there are so many more gorgeous examples on her feed 🧡 #illustration #miniaturepainting
— jenny lloyd 🫒🍉 🇵🇸 (she/her) (@jennyariane) January 18, 2018
I hope those are archival tea bags. Amazing work.
— HappaHaoli (@HappaHaoli) March 6, 2018
Amazing!
— BAngieB (@BAngieB12) March 7, 2018
What can we say? They say one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, but Ruby truly creates treasure from trash.