WABI SABI

Do you like a good story? I would like to tell you my story of coming to know and identify the world of WABI SABI I live in.

Before I get into my story, I will try to express what this world or concept means.

WABI is the Natural - living in tune with nature. To personify - we are someone who is content with little and makes the most of whatever is at hand, always moving towards less. It is refined and elegant simplicity. To discover WABI one must have an eye for the unusual and who can see beauty in unexpected ways.

SABI refers to what happens with the passage of time, rust and patinas - the impermanence and imperfections of beauty and authenticity of age - the wear and tear of daily use, lovingly repaired and attended to, not to detract but to add to the aesthetic depth.

An appreciation of SABI confirms the natural cycle of organic life that what is created returns to the earth and nothing is ever complete.

Curating possibilities.

WABI SABI isn’t about getting rid of everything you own - however to appreciate this way of living it is easier with less. It’s about recognizing the pleasure we can experience from what we do have without constantly needing to acquire more. It is to be aware of what gives us pleasure - therefore having only what brings one joy is essential. Anything more is simply taxing.

I associate WABI SABI with poetry. That feeling you achieve when you feel compelled to write or speak to express and expand a moment but words are not necessary.

WABI SABI is the pursuit of transcendental order of beauty through reticence, humility, and the cultivation of the simple, the imperfect and the austere. Yet when one creates a WABI SABI home, although it may appear austere, it is ‘filled with space’ to curate possibilities and just enough comfort.

Back to my story…. 

I landed back in Toronto after a 6 year hiatus. The city had imploded with people in overcrowded hoods with new architecture to stack them like bricks. I didn’t recognize my city. I yearned for a space where I could dive deep into my sculpture and design. 

I found a great live/work studio in the Junction- a cool hip new up-and-coming-area. After settling in, I ventured out to revisit this hood that was anything but cool back-in-the-day. 

And there it was - a most exceptional store. It was so compelling, I immediately crossed the street and entered the set up of what was to be an exhibition of a most talented artist from Japan - Studio Tint that was premiering that evening! He crafts pans, plates, bowls, spoons out of stainless steel by pounding them and bathing them in an acid wash.

I had arrived in my artist's dream world and had no desire to leave. 

The entire store held my gaze of various treats - a mix between the classic designers of Mid-century Modern and Japanese Artisans. Carefully designed woven fabric sofas and iconic chairs, lamps, oh so many pieces - all curated with care and consideration.

I was spellbound by this artist that had me reaching for more but it wasn’t more of anything one would want with the status quo - overzealous, over the top, loud, excessive, competitive. It was minimal but expansive,  simplistic but sublime, sustainable impermanence but holding time, space to rest the soul, to find stillness and just be. I felt a longing for the deep introspective practice it takes to get there. I stayed clear of the cafe culture I knew would busy me and my mind and immersed myself to understand this way of life. 

Studio Tint - Japan

At that time I also was introduced to the sculptor/artist Eve Hesse who believed in the impermanence of her art. Unless I am working in marble or stone - does it really need to live forever? She clearly understood this and it gave me permission to approach my art in a wonderful way - free of constraints and the incessant pressure to sustain.

Eve Hesse

WABI SABI has often been tied to the Japanese tea ceremony. I will interject with a story of meeting Masanobu Ando - a sculptural ceramic artist/tea master in that very store. I was privileged to be chosen to sit at the table and receive his tea ceremony. 

Do you know that to be a grand tea master requires up to 10 years of dedicated practice? What? How can that be? You set the table, boil water, you make tea and serve it. Not from a tea master - it is meditative. Quiet. Sublime. Blissful. Impatience is eroded in stillness. I was transfixed and it was in the middle of an art show in that store - crowded and noisy. I was bliss. I was calm. I was transfixed in the realm of WABI SABI.

Filled with space.

Anyone who knows me knows I have always been someone who has made lemonade out of lemons. Taking what is there and making a space beautiful. 

But it goes deeper than this.  Meeting the artist that day brought me to a place I longed to understand so I could bring this to my life and others. The impermanence - the still point that brings one to rest in the silence of their own soul. The art of non-doing. Minimal. Timeless. Spacious. Non- attachment.

I wish to find other souls who also yearn for this way of life and help others achieve this conscious way to live. A good way to live. This way of life. 

Do you long for this?

Interiors and art by Axel Vervoodt - my muse.  

The impermanence and beauty of these stairs worn over time.
Artist unknown to me.