If I had a just one vice (one that I’d publish and pontificate about in public at least) I’d say it’s probably coffee. Now I’m not a snob per sae. I don’t roast my own beans or grind my own usually, but on the other hand I don’t consider anything that comes out of a can to be the essence of my addiction either. If you replaced my regular coffee with Folger’s crystals, you better believed I’d be noticing that.

I think decaf is pointless and I believe that a truly well crafted cup of coffee should taste just as good straight as it does with anything you might choose to put in it to suit your mood. I think the color of coffee is sexy. I think the aroma is the very definition of the word. There are few things I’ve encountered in my sheltered life that are more disappointing than bad or cold coffee. Coffee is like permission to relax and be productive all at the same time. Simple and complex. Coffee flavored ice cream, desserts, liquor and coffee in lotion or body scrubs are all great, but most of all I just want to drink a deeply warm, invigorating, filling, cup. And when I don’t, I of course am reminded just how much I miss my fix by the resulting excruciating caffeine withdrawal headache.

With this love in mind I’ve been thinking also about all those grounds that the world must consume and where it all goes. And as I am wont to do, my mind wanders to how it could be made into art. And I’ve broken it down into 3 main areas I’d like you real artists to explore.

Sandcastles. One of my favorite art forms, both childlike, and complex. Fleeting too. There is something about all that effort put into an art that will not last the day that is both romantic and noble. Art for arts sake has a special place in my heart. So why not have coffee ground castles or grounded sculpture contests? Perhaps not on the beach but what about in an organic garden? Coffee grounds make great fertilizers and help with composting not to mention help ward of pests.

Water color. So not the first person to think of it, but what a challenge. Monochromatic as Black and White photography, this could be a hot commodity to line the walls of your neighborhood café with paintings of earthly scenes. Shadows of calligraphy and the inkblots of historical psychological analysis fame.

Mosaic. Different blends and grinds and roasts create different colors and textures. What if you created a mosaic between glass panes and framed them? What about between the plastic of your travel coffee mug?

When you think about it there’s got to be a market for this not only for your cafe walls but for individuals like myself who pay homage just about every day to the coffee gods. Your product is essentially free; all you need to do is have the beans to ask your local Barista if you can take those leftover grounds off their hands. Biodegradable, cheap, beautiful, “green” art that can just as easily create a political statement about our society’s addictive, chemically dependent, wasteful and over-commercialized tendencies as it can celebrate a long-standing drinking tradition that spans centuries and global cultures.

And so, I put it to you, oh people with so much more artistic talent that I could even buy with what’s left of my soul, get your grind on.