My artistic style flows directly from my writing. When I write, images rise naturally to illustrate my stories. The text below is the inspiration behind this piece.
More recently, I participated in a tea ceremony in the land of my ancestors, in the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees. This retreat was strongly influenced by the traditions of Plum Village, located not too far away, on the other side of the Pyrenees. My illustration depicts this ceremony, and below I offer a description of my mindfulness experience:
 
The sun is about to peek from behind the mist-drenched mountains. And the full moon has only just passed from view. In this peaceful twilight space, the hidden sun and moon come together to dimly illumine us. I feel immersed and absorbed by sensory effects, like the steam from boiling water that is glimpsed in a prism.
 
The lady who facilitates the ceremony invokes Thich Nhat Hanh's description: “When we drink a cup of tea, we drink a cloud.” Here these words feel more true than ever. Through the glass windows, the steam inside seems to intermingle with the clouds outside. Water, steam, mist and clouds are all one.
 
I sense the Earth elements: fire in the heating of the water, in the candles and incense; earth in the nest of the Pyrenees, the tea leaves and clay cups; air in the steam, the scents that fill the kitchen, and light that is carried through the room; water in the mist that surrounds the house.
 
She explains how to hold the cup: “Prostrate the cup at the base of the non-dominant hand and hold it with the thumb; prostrate the fingers of the dominant hand in front of the container and use them to tilt it towards your lips. Drink meditatively, subtly, little by little.”  We drink to our fill. 
 
I feel a strong sense of interbeing and connection with the ancestral home of my father, and my spiritual home on the other side of the Pyrenees.
 
From my book Walking on Earth with Thich Nhat Hanh (p. 116)