Wabi Sabi Before it Was a Thing (Week 2018-42)
I learned that I was wabi sabi before it was a thing. The mug in this photo was a gift to our wedding party at our wedding in 1988. This is my dad's mug mug. We gave the potter a photo of each person and he re-clay-ated their faces and each mug was personalized with their name. So this clearly a wabi-sabi since it is imperfectly hand created and each mug was distinct in way that could never be mass produced. I still think wabi-sabi sounds like a 1960's dance move, but it is mug instead.
Shot with Nikon D7500
Raw
5568x3712
F5.6
1/125 sec.
ISO 10000
Focal Length 210mm
Cropped and edited in Photoshop CS
Assignment: The wabi sabi philosophy originated from Japan and in a nutshell (an old half-decomposed nutshell of course) it means to celebrate the beauty of a naturally imperfect world. This philosophy is actually a combination of two words: ‘Wabi’ which means an understated elegance through rustic, simple and natural design. And ‘Sabi’ means seeing beauty in the flaws that come with age. In a world filled with AI, blockchains and cell phones that get smarter every two months, it is essential to stop and appreciate the beauty of the old, the rusted and the cracked. The race after the latest shiny thing will never end and it is often the old stuff with a worn patina that gives us the most comfort. Wabi-sabi teaches us to be content with the chip in a beloved mug and to appreciate the wear and tear of a lived life. So this week, creative Framers, show us the beauty in imperfection. It would be the wrinkles in a smiling face, a decomposing flower, the cracked spine of a beloved book or an art table covered in used paint brushes and muddied paint.
