We stayed at Sunrise Springs for two nights outside of Santa Fe and drove on the 2nd day out to Placitas to visit with JB & Cirrelda Bryan. JB just built a rustic little tea shack with hardwood floors. The space does not have electricity so it invites a great deal of creativity in working with these particular circumstances. JB boiled water for tea using a stove-like vertical tower that would in older times be used to heat a flat-iron. It cast a warm glow throughout the space, in combination with the antique oil lamps JB acquired for the space. It was my first time having caffeine or tea since the cleanse and the macha tasted delicious. JB created comfortable sitting areas using large zabutons and hand-made kneeling benches to aid with sitting long hours of seiza.
On Monday, we had tea with Siddiq and Sakina Von Briesen in Santa Fe. Siddiq was very involved in the early days of the Lama Foundation. Both he and his wife are also practitioners of Japanese tea. They renovated their guest room and put in tatami floors, and sliding doors, and built a tokonoma. They also had a professional come and cut a sliding panel door in the wall, leading into and out of the backyard garden. In the garden, they also have a waiting/sitting area for tea, a chozubachi for purification, and a lovely stone path.
We also saw the tea space in use at Sunrise Springs - where a woman named Natsuko who also works for Shibui, hosts gatherings and does some teaching. That building, is also an architectural delight. Local materials (multi-color tree branches) are used for the interior roof, the inside is adobe.
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