In my Whimsical Things Unboxing Video, which you can access below, I had promised to write a blog post about the genesis of my wall art design, “When Oolong takes too long…”.
Here is that post.
This bit of Madisonian whimsy came through sometime after I had moved from New York City to Philadelphia. After having spent a decade post-doctorate in my home town forging an arts career while shepherding my mother through health crisis after health crisis, God gave me strong signals that it was time for me to move out of the family home. The strongest signal came in July 2012 when, after years of living out-of-state and wreaking havoc from afar, my brother returned to the abode bringing his alcohol and anger issues with him. When he turned violent towards me and neither Mom nor the authorities could/would do anything about it, I knew it was time to leave the Mo’ and Bro’ Show behind. The first stop was the East Village, where a minister friend offered me sanctuary in her apartment in February 2013. I then spent the next few months visiting friends up and down the East Coast to determine where I could possibly find both work and a decent living space. I finally settled on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and moved there in September 2013.
Starting out in a new city at a financially precarious time, rather than look for an apartment, I rented a room in the attic of a house between September 2013 and May 2014. I brought only as much of my stuff with me as I could fit into a full-size rental car. The large, early 20th-century wood frame house was in Chestnut Hill, which lies as far from downtown as one could get and still be living within Philly city limits. There I could rest and begin to recover my sense of self-esteem, my joy, and my sense of purpose.
One morning, I was in the kitchen making tea. The kitchen had a nice little standing café area with a couple of stools along one wall underneath a big window overlooking a garden. On the counter, I had a box with some tea bags I had gathered during my travels. I made a cup of Earl Grey, and was looking through the box. I took a sip as I picked up one of the packets. The print on the wrapper let me know that it was Japanese Oolong. Oh, ok, I thought, as I swallowed and then took another sip. A moment later, I hear Madison loud and clear in my inner ear, “When Oolong takes too long, try Ooshort!”. This so took me by surprise that some of the tea wound up going up into my nose before I could swallow, inhale, and then laugh aloud. Whatever worries had been floating around the edges of my consciousness vanished that instant.
The idea to turn that phrase into a piece of wall art came to me a decade later, in 2023 or 2024, after my move to Fort Myers, Florida. I visualized it as a sign that wouldn’t be out of place in Madison Hatta’s PeculiariTEA Shop. Back in 2016, I had already scanned into my computer a diamond background 4” x 6” postcard that I had handcrafted using rubber stamps, paint, and ink. Now using Canva, I added clip art that allowed me to put images to Madison’s statement. Then I played with different sizes: should it be 8” x 10” or 16” x 20”? Once that was settled, should it be a wooden sign, or metal, or canvas? Lastly, how could I best make it available to others—without having to carry and store inventory myself? Having been dissatisfied with the print-on-demand marketplaces Zazzle and (Tee)Spring, I was happy to find that my current website platform allows me to have a Printful store built into my website. Printful’s creator tools and customer support are good, and ordering items is easy.
It amazes me how long it took for this idea, this energetic vibration, to come into its exact right physical form, but it is such a satisfying feeling to finally hold the finished design in my hands, especially since it looks even better than I imagined it would. I now have a canvas print of my (plus Madison’s) design hanging on the wall, and I smile every time I see it. It inspires joy, and it is through joy that the Divine reaches us and heals us.
Know someone who could use this bit of Wonderland-inspired whimsy in his or her life? Feel free to send that someone this link: https://aprillynnjames.com/product/1161072-when-oolong-takes-too-long-thin-canvas-wrap.