wabi-sabi perfection

It has been a while since I wanted to write about wabi-sabi, a concept I was first introduced to by a dear friend (DF), in those days my professor in grad school. This awe-striking descriptor refers to the beauty of the imperfect, the exquisiteness of the raw and honest elements within most hand crafted objects. The difference between wabi-sabi and poor quality work is that any object withholding a wabi-sabi spirit is imperfect, yet retains a grace and contemplative serenity that elevates it to a sui generis plane.

Sometimes when one of my prints does not work well, I look at it with very critical eyes,  determining if it is wabi-sabi or just bad craftsmanship. In general, I write them off as unusable, yet, sometimes, I do recognize the allure in the virtuous flaw.
Leonard Koren's book Wabi-Sabi For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers provides a good overview of wabi-sabi, my only misgiving about recommending this book is that it does not end, but rather abruptly stops, leaving the reader (or at least me) a bit disconcerted.

In truth, I have discovered the perfect embodiment of wabi-sabi in my E's work. She is a ceramist, a potter, and at 13, a very talented one. Yes, this is mom speaking, but still, her ability is immediately recognizable. On Saturday (December 8) she held her first fund-raiser for Free The Children, pledging to donate all proceeds to this exceptional organization with which she has been involved since late summer, and I am delighted to report she did splendidly. Not only did E sell all of her pieces (at different price ranges), but received the undeniable support of those who stopped by the youth vendors at City of Craft, a very positive experience to all young artists.

Her work is developing, and she is not afraid to experiment, unknowingly embracing the true nature of wabi-sabi, resulting in extraordinarily dainty pieces. These are a few examples of her work from my personal collection.