Wabi Sabi

Wabi Sabi is a term that has cropped up in my world several times in the past couple years. It's a Japanese  "world view" or "outlook" that asks us to embrace the "acceptance of transience and imperfection". I have to say I like that. Seems much more realistic than trying to make everything perfect or expecting it to be possible. This outlook finds the beauty in imperfection. The bowl below is gorgeous in it's repair of imperfection. Seen here in an article about Wabi Sabi in architecture.

 Last fall I attended a workshop focused on creating multiple book structures with paste paper techniques, resists, Eco dyeing,  and our own handwriting in many forms, both legible and not. We were urged to get this book. I'll be honest. I never quite made friends with it. It may one I have to revisit at different times in my artistic journey to fully appreciate.

The exercises we engaged in were however freeing. We layered lots of techniques on top of one another not knowing what the ultimate out come would until we got further along in the process. Rather freeing.  Below are shots of one of the books I created...as yet unfinished, so you are seeing different elements in potential placement on pages.

I would love any questions regarding how these looks were accomplished or materials used.  Try looking for the Wabi Sabi in your own life.

Mark Making

I've taken a few classes that focus primarily on making marks on paper using unusual & traditional tools to get interesting results. In the picture above are a group of my tools and some of the marks made. Included are stimudent taped to a tongue depressor, a tracing wheel used in sewing, a hand made "folded pen" on the far left, a couple other calligraphy nibs, a rubber tipped "shaper", a poppy seed head & a sea shell not seen. 

                                         This is my favorite nib, nick named the "blue pumpkin".

                                                              a brass parallel pen below

                                                                     automatic pens

Resists can be used to preserve the white paper or other surface underneath. Paste paper is a bit like finger painting for grown ups.  The types of marks and designs are almost limitless. Below are a few pieces made recently when a friend & I had a play day set aside to experiment with paste paper.

Water color can be used for striking results in calligraphy pens. This was a exercise where you add more & more water color to a small amount of water and increase the size of letter forms with each line to create a full page background. The writing is a stream of consciousness that is not meant to be legible.

Letting you inner child and it's imagination and not allowing the inner critic a voice in the process are helpful in playing with marks. A valuable suggestion from one instructor, Laurie Doctor, was to work on three pieces at once then assign one to ruin. It was amazing how spectacular the ones we tried to ruin turned out.

Amazing Times

Just got back from a truly wonderful experience at lake Louise in Northern Michigan. We 21 women had a fantastic Art Retreat with two exceptional artists, Pamela Paulsrud and Rosie Kelly. I suggest  you go poke around their sites or search for images.

We dabbled in paste paper, eco dyeing...with incredible surprising results, suminogashi, and binding the results into book form.

Over the next few posts I'll focus on one aspect of what we learned or played with. Here is a taste of how the process began:

 We filled a full sheet  40" X 26" of Arches Text Wove with writing, front & back. Pam offered prompts to get us to use different sizes, our non dominant hand, a conversation between ourselves and our 4 year old self.  A fun freeing experience.

Next came applying paste & pigment to the page, again front & back. To later be cut into pieces for book structures.

 It doesn't look like much yet, but hang inthere with me.

 Plus I have recently gotten addicted ot embossing letters. I incorporated this into my book for the title page which I will show you next time. This is my practice piece.

Till next time....