Material
Wabi Sabi Bench
Wabi Sabi Bench
This bench is made from a massive Black Locust tree truck. First, dried for three years, then chainsawed in half. The legs create a "waterfall" effect. The legs are held in-place with 3 large 7/8 inch black walnut mortise and tenon dowels.
Wabi
Initially, the word wabi had a negative meaning - conveying pessimism and mourning, the feeling of sadness and anxiousness from a wish unfulfilled. The meaning changed in the 16th Century, shifting to a more positive connotation of acceptance in plans going awry. Experiences such as disappointment or poverty could be met with calm. Wabi expresses the spiritual abundance of discovering simple beauty in having less and enjoying it. Wabi is the beauty that can be felt from natural imperfections and shortages rather than something artificially crafted. [source]
Sabi
Sabi possesses a meaning of discovering the beauty in an appearance that has deteriorated or gotten old over time. We feel that an object has a life and history that is reflected in its unique patina. The thing is imperfect and reveals its character and inner life, unlike an artificial material. The sabi obiect is a reflection of our own continuity through change. [source]
Japanese Wabi Sabi
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi (侘寂) is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature. It is prevalent in many forms of Japanese art. [source]
Why Wabi Sabi Furniture?
I like imperfect things, but observing something seemingly perfect transform to imperfect makes me uncomfortable. With natural products like wood, the medium is already imperfect. There's something so satisfying about creating using deeply characterized wood. It can be forgiving but also unexpected. For example, if you didn't dry it enough, it might crack years later, but this doesn't destroy my piece, it only adds to the story, the beauty and it's complexity.
