Wabi Sabi means the art of finding beauty in imperfection...accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay and death. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind.
We hadn't heard of this concept when we moved into our current home - a 100 year old village house in the centre of a small Andalusian town - and it was evident that our Spanish builders hadn't either. They looked at us aghast when we said that instead of completely knocking down the tumbledown breeze-block 'matadero' (which once would have been used for the slaughtering and cooking of domestic livestock) we wanted to keep the brick corner pillars and the old wooden door made from a singer sewing machine crate and still bearing the words SINGER, clearly on the wood and incorporate them into the patio area. The builders complied whilst grudgingly muttering things to themselves about the crazy English...
Now, as I sit on my back steps in the warm spring air, and contemplate our ever-greener patio (the plants just thrive in the combination of shelter and shade), I know we made the right decision. Probably the guy who made the door and pillars didn't know about the concept of Wabi Sabi either, but he did know how to make something beautiful and enduring out of humble materials and I'm pleased to have been able to share it.
(Description of Wabi Sabi taken from http://nobleharbor.com/tea/chado/WhatIsWabi-Sabi.htm)
12 Mar 2008
Wabi Sabi
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1 comment:
Definitely the right decision! I love all those old bits and pieces especially when worn by time. Talking about Singer sewing machines and your own style of garden, last week I was fossicking in a junk and scrap yard when I discovered an old broken singer sewing machine. Oh boy you would think I had found gold! Anyway I bought it for next to nothing and have put it in my courtyard where it looks totally comfortable.
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