Friday, September 9, 2011

Doing It The Wabi-Sabi Way

Well yesterday was an experience in frustration. I wrote and typed the blog for the day twice. Each time it failed to post. This is the third attempt. Believe me when I say that this version is almost completely different from the other two attempts. My thoughts seem clearer.
    I’m not going to pretend to completely understand the Japanese concept of wabi sabi. I have a western view of the world my understanding may be limited by my perspective. I do like what I see and hear. The concept draws me in. Here’s a long quote from Wiki, I find useful. "if an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi." "[Wabi-sabi] nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."
     How do these three realities help us? They help us by providing a focus on the natural. They ask us to meditate on an object rather than just glance in passing at an object. As makers of objects we have to understand that subtle changes become areas of wonderment for the viewer. That area of wonderment has transformative power for the viewer of the object.
     The westerner will simply say "I don't know anything about art, but I like it." Others will say, "This piece speaks to me."
Some days it's as if through some happy accident, a serendipity, I discovered I could speak a language I didn't know existed, And I just discovered there are people that understand it!
     A synergy has formed.   Enjoy

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