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You may have seen Sandy’s Tea Society the museum gift shop or your local bookstore and wondered, “Who is Sandy? Is she a real person?” Well, Sandy Lynam Clough is an author and artist who lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband of 22 years, Rick, an ordained minister who currently manages her business.
The mother of two grown sons, Clough was raised in Jackson, Mississippi, the daughter of a sign painter and a cashier. Her father painted in his free time as well as on the job so art supplies were always available. She was taken with art and an artist was born. She majored in art at Mississippi College and felt her ability was God-given.
She became interested in tea because she wanted to paint the teacups. In 1994, her work came to the attention of editors at Harvest House Publishers and she was signed as the illustrator for
If Teacups Could Talk by Emilie Barnes. She collaborated with Barnes on other books including
The Twelve Teas of Christmas and An Invitation to
Tea.
 In 1997 disaster loomed as she faced the first of three surgeries to prevent blindness. Left with distorted vision in one eye, she began to question her calling.
Clough believes that God heals people, “but I wasn’t healed,” she said. “What am I going to do with that? He called me to be an artist. Why hasn’t he moved heaven and earth to fix this?”
Over time Clough came to grips with her condition and began to write and illustrate a series of “comfort books” including Seeing God’s Heart When You’re Hurting and When You Don’t Know What to Say. It wasn’t easy having to rely on her good eye, but she soon found her confidence and desire returning.
She relates her struggles and journey to come to acceptance in And I Know He Watches Me, which was published in 1999 by Harvest House. It was followed by So Rare a Treasure.
In 2001 she published Sandy’s Tea Society, a book about a group of fictional women who take turns hosting tea parties in their homes. The tome, which Clough calls, “a book of gentle instruction,” has launched a website and a national network of tea lovers. She’s written a follow-up book When Friends Gather for Tea, and plans a gook for young ladies called Miss Sandy’s Tea Party to be available this July.
Clough has come to believe that the tea party is a vehicle for women to tend and grow relationships that have become rare in today’s world. Her books and other items encourage women to take advantage of an extraordinary treat – time for one’s self and one’s friends.
Quotes taken from “Tea for Thee” by Gayle White, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Faith and Values section, pp. B1—B2, February 9, 2002. Return
to Online Tea Society
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