Tiny Tea Stories with Ruby Silvious
April 17 - 19, 2026
Black Cat Farm | Boulder, Colorado
15 Students
No Experience Necessary
The heart of this retreat is reimagining limits — turning remnants of daily ritual into canvases for innovation and self-discovery.
Discover the beauty of small-scale creativity as we transform unassuming tea bags into soulful works of art. Through inviting, approachable hands-on painting exercises, we’ll explore new forms of self-expression on these non-traditional, unexpected canvases. Together, we’ll learn to see familiar objects differently—transforming tea cups into playful studies, turning our favorite personal tops into whimsical ‘tea shirt’ Concertina books, and creating floral tea bag collages adorned from wooden spools. For participants who like to sew, there will be an option to hand stitch flowers or a design of choice onto the muslin tea bags.
This retreat welcomes all levels of experience, from those who have never painted before to those seeking a fresh way to reconnect with their creativity. Working with tea bags as our foundation invites us to shift how we see the world around us ~ a reminder that ideas can emerge from the most ordinary materials and things we touch and use every day.
By the end of our time together, we’ll carry home not only a collection of varied tea bag paintings, but also a sense of calm, curiosity, and inspiration for the art of transforming everyday objects. Let a humble tea bag become a tiny world of possibility.
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All materials supplied including a personalized kit with a zinc frame for your tea cup, a tiny tin suitcase for your ‘tea shirts’, and a vintage wooden spool for your tea bag art
Going home with finished creative works ~ tea cup painting in a darling zinc frame; tea shirt concertina book; tea bag art hanging on a vintage wooden spool
Translating your favorite shirts and/or sweaters in an approachable way to create whimsical ‘tea shirts’
Expanding your mind as to what a canvas could be
A complimentary signed copy of Ruby’s book, Reclaimed Canvas: Reimagining the Familiar (Mascot Books, 2019)
Fresh farm-to-table organic meals
Handcrafted tea blends each day
The energy of growth and renewal of being on a working farm
Gentle body movement session
About the Artist | Ruby Silvious
Originally from Tacloban City, Philippines, Ruby Silvious has made Coxsackie, New York, her home since 2004. She studied architecture and fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila before moving to the U.S., where she raised two sons in upstate New York. While balancing family life, she returned to school and earned degrees in Business Administration and Marketing Management.
Ruby Silvious is an internationally acclaimed artist known for transforming everyday materials into captivating works of art. She rose to prominence with 363 Days of Tea, a yearlong project turning used tea bags into miniature paintings. Her innovative use of unconventional canvases—including eggshells, leaves, wine corks, paper bags, and receipts—challenges traditional notions of art.
Silvious is the author of 363 Days of Tea (2016) and Reclaimed Canvas (2019), both chronicling her creative journey. Her work, often inspired by global travels, has been featured in CNN Travel, Vogue Italia, Disney Malaysia,The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and the internationally syndicated Ripley's Believe it or Not, among others. Her art is exhibited and collected worldwide.
The Venue: Black Cat Organic Farm
Black Cat Farm ~ a place where all are welcome and the seeds of hope surround you. Nestled among the rolling fields just outside Boulder, Colorado, this rustic working farm is home to our Black Cat Makerie retreats. Tucked away from the rush of the world, time stands still. The beauty here isn’t curated, but rather defined by the ever-changing seasons and the pulse of growth and possibility at every turn. No matter where you are coming from or which season of life you find yourself in, you’ll feel the embrace of something so grounding and deeply authentic you might not ever forget it.
Using Black Cat’s Certified Organic farm as a source of creativity, Chef Eric Skokan creates an award-winning cuisine vibrant with seasonality. The kitchen draws heavily from the farm’s more than 250 varieties of organic vegetables, legumes, grains, herbs and flowers, as well as its large flock of heritage sheep and its robust population of heritage pigs, paving the way for a limitless palette of flavors, colors, and textures from which to build each food experience. The farm team devotes hours every day to harvesting ingredients, and then crafting them into outstanding dishes that mirror what is thriving in the fields. We can’t wait for you to experience it all for yourself!
*beautiful images by Lynn Townsend
Retreat Schedule
Friday, April 17th
8:30am to 4pm
Saturday, April 18th
9am to 4pm
6pm to 9pm (Optional Black Cat Farmstead Dinner)
Sunday, April 19th
9am to 3:30pm
Retreat Experience Pricing
$2,295
includes
3 full creative workshop days
(18 hours of instruction)
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all workshop materials
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handcrafted herbal tea
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three morning snacks
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three farm-to-table lunches
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three afternoon snacks
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online retreat booklet with all the details and inspiration about this retreat
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special gift
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* optional Black Cat Farmstead dinner + $200
Questions? See our FAQs. We’re happy to work with you on a custom payment plan; email ali@themakerie.com.