I often think about how are shortcomings and faults part of what absolutely natural materials make so beautiful. This is, what makes beautiful, imperfect people us all too! The Japanese have an aesthetic philosophy, studied and revered the feeling, has called it Wabi Sabi. As the absolute and real truth of Wabi Sabi not written so many Eastern philosophies or expressed in words, but words is what I have, I'll keep!
Wabi Sabi is the beauty of the shortcomings and the fact that all over is transient, temporary. For example, we have a wall of cement in the garden, which is crumbling. My husband wanted it down and make a new. The horror! I saved this wall from Newification and planted around it. And behold, it's new-found moisture, green algae (a precursor of the MOSS) has started to grow in the cliffs of the exposed pebbles. A crumbling, Mossy wall is a perfect example for what is Wabi Sabi. The beauty of Wabi Sabi is not only about destruction and decay. The beauty lies in the contrast and the combination of something alive, new, vibrant with the process of decay and destruction, and it seems to me that contains also the contrast of decay and destruction with the renewal, recovery, 'Renewal'. It is inherent to a cancelled a beauty, moss covered wall that is past, to history with age and life lived by the wall. Sometimes heartbreaking Poignance is so, we can feel just nice that we do not even think about it!
If I in my jewelry, art, embroidery, natural materials find knitting work, I, that I'm attracted to natural imperfections more materials with natural imperfections or the facial expressions. I come to this most often when buying semi precious gems for jewelry making. Funny, that the highest quality stones more expensive and usually less beautiful. You are without accidental veins and patches of other minerals mixed uniform. There is no color variation between stones. How boring! The more a material imitating the Wabi Sabi essence of nature (the bumps, the irregular colour change) the more I am drawn there. Hand painted yarns and C-grade gems are perfect examples.
I think a lot of people feel this way, but maybe we're a minority? If we were not, would not be diamonds so popular. I am always amazed the gems and minerals collections in museums, this rugged cliffs with brilliant splashes of color and interesting crystal formations. What is even more amazing that the perfect, cut draw more gems, kept in a special dark room with light for a better display and are more value should be. This is so funny.
The same goes for the people in my opinion to. I was inspired to this post from a very inspiring article by LuAnn Udell writing where she tells how the small shortcomings in us all, which are so beautiful, make more beautiful as well as the imperfections in wood such as nodes and disease. (Birds-eye maple wood coveted this huge Boles, who is on the pages of the trees grow to, where limbs have been cut off and who does not love, wood turned bowls?) Sure, I talk too much and too often it is about myself, but hey, that's part of my charm, right? So, let's all be somewhat imperfect, and revel in our own beauty and in the moments of Wabi Sabi beauty around us!
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