Wabi Sabi in the Garden

Wabi-Sabi Elephant Ear Plant

Wabi-Sabi Elephant Ear © 2011 Bo Mackison

When suffering overwhelms me I will breathe in and leave an opening in this moment for the joy that lies just behind it.  ~ Philip Martin

This is a dying leaf amidst all the other green leaves. And yet, I think it is one of the most beautiful in the garden, with its translucent creamy whites streaked with purple veining.

Drooping towards the earth, the weight of the leaf is too heavy for its stem. But in letting go, in its slow motion drift towards the earth — which it will soon be a part of — it offers a certain grace, a dignity, and beauty — wabi-sabi beauty.

It’s a wabi-sabi kind of day.

Wabi Sabi Dahlia

Dahlia 'Esther' form Olbrich Gardens, Madison Wisconsin

Wabi Sabi Dahlia © 2010 Bo Mackison

This photograph is the last in the series of dahlias I’m posting on Seeded Earth (though there are many, many more in my treasure piles). I showed you ‘Esther’ as a new bud with the light from the setting sun giving her a warm glow. I showed you ‘Esther’ with her petals just beginning to fully unfurl. I gave you a peek of ‘Esther’ from a vantage not often seen – the undersides of the dahlia, softly lit (and one of my favorites). I posted a photograph of ‘Esther’ close up, so close you could almost see her heart. Today we say good bye to ‘Esther’ the dahlia, as she is on the wabi-sabi part of her journey.

What is wabi-sabi?  As defined by architect Tadao Ando:

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It’s simple, slow, and uncluttered-and it reveres authenticity above all.

Seems fitting that this is the photo for today. Today is one of those wabi-sabi sorts of days.

White Curtains in Mineral Point Wisconsin

Nothing Square about this WIndow

Nothing Square about this Window © 2010 Bo Mackison

April 1. New month, new season.

Windows. I love how there is nothing quite square about this window. Back in the 1800s I suppose they didn’t have to use rulers and squares when they were building their stone buildings. Eying it was good enough, plus a few years of settling in. I like that.

I like its crookedness.

Sarah’s Comfort

a wabi-sabi treasure

Wabi-Sabi Treasure © 2009

My great-grandmother, Sarah Margaret Smulling, was 18 years old when she made what she referred to in her diary as her  “comfort” and entered it in the county fair. She brought  home a blue ribbon. (still attached)

Antique Embroidered Comforter 1884 © 2009

Sarah was born in 1866; she sewed and painted this coverlet c. 1884. She lived on a farm in Clark County, Missouri, near the town of Kahoka, where her older sister and brother-in-law had a millinery shop. Her sister brought home the scraps from her shop, and shared them with her younger sisters. Most evenings, after the farm chores were done, Sarah and her sisters would all gather and each would sew or decorate their “comforts” or other pieced items.

Embroidered Fan © 2009

Since the girls were using scraps from a well-established and profitable shop, they had access to the finest of materials. Silks, damasks, moires, chintze, brocades, velvets, and fine cottons were all available for their use. Sarah did several appliques on this piece. The most elaborate was this orange fan.

Hand Painted Swan on 1884 Comforter © 2009

Sarah evidently had some talent in the arts. She was the only girl in the family who actually painted on her fabric. Most of the small paintings are of the more common varieties of flowers–daisies, violets, wild roses–but she also painted several butterflies and this swan.

The quilt is done in mostly browns, neutrals, and oranges. The one thing I find amazing is the border Sarah added to her handiwork–a five inch wide swath of bright pink chintz. The fabric has suffered from lots of use and improper storage. There are quite a few worn pieces of fabric in the delicate materials. Nonetheless, I consider this one of my family’s heirlooms. Definitely wabi-sabi.

The entire set of photographs, including more close-ups of different sections of the coverlet are in this flickr set.

Putting Out Fires

Fire Sprinkler

Fire Sprinkler Connection © 2008

Putting out fires…where is that fire hose?