Wabi sabi Thoughts for Artists

The Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi formed quite a strong foundation for my practice when I read the book “wabi sabi for artists, writers, designers and philosophers” by Leonard Koren back in my final year of university, studying fine art at Bath Spa University. Bite sized ideas from that book can be found across my thinking. It was the first time I had experienced that moment of connection when reading something, the one when someone articulates something you’ve been thinking on for a while.

Life and my practice continued and I read more widely and saw more things but my ears always prick up when I hear or read the idea of wabi sabi. Then yesterday, I was moving a bookshelf around- making space for more books and shuffling other ones out. I realised that I haven’t really revisited the concepts of that book in a while and I don’t think I’ve ever written about what interests me other than a few lines in an artist statement. The May Writing Challenge is so enjoyable, for giving me permission to write about and think on things that really interest me.

Wabi sabi is widely described as an aesthetic and philosophical theory. With a basic translation it means rustic and unfortunately, in recent years this most basic idea of what it is has been used to sell shabby chic type products, ironically he complete antithesis of what wabi sabi intends. The origins of the wabi sabi philosophy came out of the tea ceremonies in Japan. When they hit a height of popularity, there was an increasingly lavish experiences created, each trying to out compete the other. With fine porcelains, ornate table settings and decoration and tea houses all adding a sense of opulence and prestige. The tea ceremony had become a spectacle and theatre of consumerism and lost its origins of the zen teachings. The philosophy of wabi sabi was used as a way back to the roots of what the tea ceremony is for; a ritualised mediative practice of making and serving tea. Favouring handmade and natural finishes of wood, clay and stone, opting for simplicity and humble decoration, the participant of the ceremony can focus on meditation and remaining present in the moment. This places it as a counter balance to modernism and consumerism.

In her book ‘Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life’, Beth Kempton writes on how the wisdom of wabi sabi can help us let go of the need for perfection in order to find balance and calm. Transforming every area of your life allowing you to find happiness right where you are. It is a way of living and being that can be applied as a balm for the times we are living in. Kempton’s writing and podcasts are a real inspiration and I would recommend checking out her work here.

The understanding that I have taken from Koren's book, which captured my imagination, is that everything is evolving from or into nothingness. That we can find beauty in this impermanence. Imperfections, fragility and ephemera connect us to the concept and can help us appreciate our own transience. The idea that truth comes from the observation of nature has been impactful on my work. I have chosen to follow this thread by observing and drawing nature, trying to capture the fleeting moments.

As an artist I use wabi sabi to guide my looking. I take note of seasonal shifts, I spend time in my garden or in the landscape where possible. Noticing what is changing, growing and dying around me. I translate these observations and feelings into drawings first and then into glass work and paintings. Art is an act of transience. Artists live in a liminal space of creativity. The idea of permanence is at odds with the act of making art which happens wholly in the moment.

My glass engravings are perhaps my truest expression of what I believe wabi sabi to be. The fragility of a feather translated into glass. The clear surface holding the lightness of the scratched line. It plays with light, catching it, casting shadows. Different everyday, every moment. Allowing the viewer to take a moment to pause and reflect.

Finding natures ephemera, is something I think we are all drawn to to. Children have a direct line to the magic of finding and picking up objects such as sticks, leaves, feathers, shells and stones. These souvenirs from the landscape give us a tactile connection to the place we are in. They offer a playful, tangible way to our imagination. Placed together they become offerings to some unseen deity- fairies, gods, goddesses, nature. I love finding the scattered and gathered twigs, leaves and stones that my children have found to be special. Enjoying them totally and completely n the moment before letting them go totally and completely. This is an expression of human nature that I find beautiful. Another human hand was here, someone else’s imagination was at play here, that energy pulses out. A shared experience without permanence. It’s the same feeling when you see a rainbow and you want to turn to someone and say look. Art work can have that feeling too, it can catch you off guard, all it should ask of you is to look.

A lot of my work has become about quiet moments of grief. This was without intentional and now I can see the threads connecting back to the acceptance of transience are helpful to communicate sorrow and hope. Two sides of the same coin perhaps.

It has been helpful to sit here and reflect on the words and thoughts that have been my practice, so much so they faded into the background in true wabi sabi style. I’ve enjoyed dusting them off and hope to put them to use in the studio today. In a world of machines and AI it is important to seek out the truth and connection from nature. It will show us the way.