Tiny Diamonds
Sometimes the most ordinary bit of flora– brown, decayed– stands amidst the most amazing of surroundings. With the temperatures below 10˚, and the sun shining, the snow looked like a layering of bitty diamonds.
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From the monthly archives:
February 2009
On the UW Madison Campus
Sometimes I admit that snow can be lovely–lovely to look at, lovely to photograph, even lovely to tromp around in.
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wabi-sabi winterscape
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. ~ Helen Keller
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second in the series on winter wabi-sabi
The golden coin-shaped leaves of this plant contrast the winter blue sky. And yes, for once the sky was so blue it reminded me of the bright skies I typically see in the west.
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fourth in the series, wabi-sabi
Wabi-sabi is characterized by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection, and asymmetry [emphasizing] simple, unadorned objects and architectural space, and [celebrating] the mellow beauty that time and care impart to materials. ~ Introduction: Chanoyu, The Art of Tea
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third in the wabi-sabi set
Greatness exists in the inconspicuous and overlooked details. Wabi-sabi represents the exact opposite of the Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular and enduring. 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. ~Leonard Koren
A different way of seeing an Arizona Sycamore tree. Shadows. Leaves. Bark.
Another photograph from my archives, taken in October last year, at Montezuma’s Castle National Monument, north of Phoenix.
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second in the wabi-sabi set
The bark of the Arizona Sycamore produces a pleasing composition, the pale greens and brown tones play well off each other.
This tree was photographed at Montezuma’s Castle National Monument, just north of Phoenix. The Monument protects Native American dwellings tucked into the breaks of a mountain. The property has many Arizona sycamores and velvet mesquites. Quite a lovely place in the fall, with Arizona’s moderately high temperatures offset by the welcoming shade of the tall Sycamores and a cooling stream running through the property.
This is the second photograph in the wabi-sabi series.
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Wabi-Sabi--First in a Series
Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. –Leonard Cohen
I am working in my photography archives, inspired to begin a new project that celebrates the beauty in the old, the worn, the natural, the simple, the impermanent, the imperfect. The photos reflect the ancient Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, a combination of two words: wabi which translates as humble, and sabi which indicates the beauty found in the natural passing of time. It is an aesthetic which focuses on a gentle acceptance of transience, and of the quality of beauty in ephemeral things.
In part, perhaps wabi-sabi is to the East what beauty in perfection is to the West.
In applying the concept to your life, the practice of wabi-sabi invites you to slow down, attach value to a simpler life-style, and de-emphasize the material goods in your life. It offers encouragement to find beauty in the unexpected. It provides for a deeper connection with nature, and a deeper connection with the people around you.
The photograph of these rusted spokes is the first in a series. It was taken deep in the woods in a less-traveled part of Door County in northern Wisconsin last summer..
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Humor - A Necessary Winter Commmodity
The Statue of Liberty is back on the ice of Lake Mendota. She has a long and fabled history here in Madison.
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another summer memory
Remembering summer, long walks through the prairie, bathed in soft evening light from the slowly setting sun.
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