Wabi-Sabi No.2

In his book on the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic Leonard Koren states,

Wabi-Sabi represents the exact opposite of the Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular, and enduring.  Wabi_Sabi is not found in nature at moments of bloom and lushness, but at moments of inception or subsiding.  Wabi-Sabi is not about gorgeous flowers, majestic trees or bold landscapes.  Wabi-Sabi is about the minor and the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral: things so subtle and evanescent they are invisible to vulgar eyes.

I often dip into this small book to keep my Wabi-Sabiness topped up and on reading this passage a day or two ago I thought I would browse my photographic images for something that would illustrate this statement. I have always favoured things in a state of decay or deconstruction over those in a condition of growth or creation so it was no surprise to me to find many more photographs depicting the former than the latter.

I thought these three photographs fitted the bill rather well and as it happens all three were taken in Andalucia, Spain.  I find that Spain, particularly in the rural areas has far more things Wabi-Sabi than anywhere in the UK where a great deal of tidying up goes on much to the detriment of the Wabi-Sabi hunter.

gHy

Following my recent rather ‘busy’ collages I thought that I should create something more minimal that would be more to my usual taste.

After several days spent occasionally adding an element interspersed with long periods of gazing at it I eventually reached the decision that this one was also too ‘busy’, and so began a period of deconstruction.

I methodically removed and /or repositioned various elements until I reached the stage you see here, which I was reasonably pleased with, as a matter of interest I have taken 5 items away from this and I feel that it is much improved for it.

Hosta leaves

Autumn is well and truly established here in the UK, the leaves on the Sycamore and Maple trees are turning wonderful shades of yellow and red and the garden plants are beginning to die back in a serious way.  We have even had a touch of ground frost in sheltered spots on a couple of occasions.

In spite of this feeling of slight melancholy I do love this time of the year because of the exciting colours, shapes and textures displayed by leaves and flowers before they finally disintegrate altogether.

My favourite plants from this point of view are the Hostas; I am quite unable to resist photographing Hosta leaves in this state of semi-decay year after year.

October is nature’s funeral month.  Nature glories in death more than in life.  The month of departure is more beautiful than the month of coming – October than May.  Every green thing loves to die in bright colors.

                                                                   Henry Ward Beecher

William Stone 1811-1887

This collage is to commemorate my Great Great Grandfather, William Stone, who was born in 1811,  married his wife Elizabeth in 1835 and died in 1887.

Many of the elements in this collage are taken from his family bible, which is in my possession, and which records the births of their 10 children and the deaths of two of them.

William Stone had no great claim to fame having worked all his life as an agricultural labourer and always lived in the same small town in Dorset, England. I imagine that he would have started work by the age of 14 and that his life would have been very humdrum and unadventurous compared with what we are accustomed to today.

I think a couple of verses by Thomas Gray are appropriate here.

Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,

Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;

Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile

The short and simple annals of the Poor.

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-

The paths of glory lead but to the grave 

                              Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

                              Thomas Gray