A Wabi-Sabi Project from a Reader

 Here's a wonderful wabi-sabi project brought to us by Linda Kunsman. Thank you, Linda!

 Linda says:
 
"The canvas board was prepped by using both a palette knife and a sea sponge to apply a thick coat of Golden Light Molding Paste, creating a rough base for the scene:

  A coat of My Studio Vanilla was painted on the dried surface. Americana Pineapple acrylic was added on the upper third. Some of it was wiped back with a paper towel. Several drops of Adirondack Butterscotch reinker was added and brushed over the lower area. I wrote some of the lyrics in pencil.

The Open Road   (5" x 7")

  Adirondack alcohol inks in Stream, Citrus, and Watermelon were dropped and blotted to form the trees. I mixed my own concoction of reinker glaze using a drop of Adirondack Watermelon, Burnt Orange and Ranger Distress Tea Dye along with Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid and lightly brushed it in areas and wiped away. The edges of the canvas were sponged with Distress Tea Dye ink."

 

 

A Wabi-Sabi Find

At Art and Soul Retreats we have Vendor Night on Saturday evenings. I had a table where I had copies of my book for sale and some art pieces. I was wandering around looking at other tables and booths before the event officially opened. I came upon a booth called Vintage Passementerie. I've seen the owner Margaret's stall frequently at Monticello Antiques here in Portland. I perused some antique Japanese prints and talked with Margaret about my love of wabi-sabi. She disappeared for a moment and then reappeared with the most lovely book I've ever seen! Reader, I fell in love at first sight. I happily parted with enough money to become the custodian of this lovely and most wabi-sabi item.

The book is really a series of Japanese account books, intricately bound together with rope. Each section has a tab. Some of the pages are blank, but each section contains plenty of breathtaking calligraphy. 

Both the top and bottom covers of the book has a large, exuberant, calligraphy character on it.

Many books bound together

The front of the book with tabs for each section

Imagine a world where something so potentially uninteresting as an account book could become almost a sacred object! Well, really, it is a sacred object because the design and the craftmanship with which it was made and used, must have lent itself to a mindful and appreciative carrying out of a daily task. At the same time, this book was not made for show. It is just itself, humble and beautiful.  Part of the art of everyday life.


P.S. I am not going to cut this book up! I'll scan some of the pages and print them out on lightweight paper. 

Papers Wabi-Sabi at Art and Soul Retreat

I had so much fun watching the students have fun in this experimental class. Using mulberry paper as a base, students used a wide variety of mark-making tools, along with re-inkers, alcohol inks, and acrylic paint to create free-form decorated papers for collage, books covers, or to hang on the wall. Very cool papers came out of this class. Lots of free spirits in this one!

This isn't one of the wabi-sabi papers from class. This is what a section a worktable looked like when I removed the used protective paper. Nice!

Happy me at Vendor Night with Marie Kennedy, one of the amazing organizers,(left) and Doris Arndt, an excellent artist and instructor.

To see pictures from my Art and Soul class, "Many Windows" visit my other blog, Serena Barton's Blog.

Wabi Sabi Wax at Art and Soul

I had a fantastic time teaching "Wabi-Sabi Wax" at Art and Soul Retreat here in Portland OR yesterday. Students learned the basics of making encaustic medium and paint. They then had a day of fun experimenting with painting and mixed media encaustic pieces. I love working with Art and Soul students. They are so willing to jump in and approach their art in a playful way. I want to share the amazing work that took shape in this class!

This student used encaustic medium and mixed media on a box!

This student created a small shrine