Wabi-Sabi bowl

Let's embrace the imperfect, and find beauty in the cracks and crevices.
(At the age of 56 I am learning to embrace a lot of imperfections, lol)

 Let's celebrate the Wabi-Sabi in our life that patiently waits to be discovered. I have enjoyed for many years the Japanese philosophies of accepting what we call flaws as something valuable instead. When I made my paper casted bowl I could only see opportunity and not disaster in the tear along the side of the bowl. I am a firm believer in Wabi-Sabi which then gave me the chance to experience the art of kintsugi.

I "repaired" the tear with gold leaf. I painted a line of Helmar Super Tack glue along the crack and then used 14 karat gold leaf to cover the "flaw" to simulate the kintsugi method.

The art of kintsugi

"The Japanese have a long tradition of repairing pots with gold; it’s called “kintsugi” or “kintsukuroi”.“The term “kintsugi” means ‘golden joinery’ in Japanese and refers to the art of fixing broken ceramics with a lacquer resin made to look like solid gold” (….and often actually using genuine gold powder in the resin).  “Chances are, a vessel fixed by kintsugi will look more gorgeous, and more precious, than before it was fractured.”Others say that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful."                                        Dick Lehman

Here is my video I made and you will even see the "acceptance" I had when I noticed the tear that I accidentally created when removing my cast from the mold. 

I just love my little "hand made" charm. Thanks to fellow design team member Linda Hess for finding them for me!

The Japanese view of life embraced a simple aesthetic

that grew stronger as inessentials were eliminated
and trimmed away.

-architect Tadao Ando

One of the ways you can make a difference is by recycling paper!
Think about it, how much paper do you use?
 Order your supplies from the Arnold Grummer store this month using the code MAR20 when you checkout!