“Wabi-Sabi offers a refuge from the modern world's obsession with perfection, and accepts imperfections as all the more meaningful – and, in their own way, beautiful.” (BBC article; “Japan’s Unusual Way To View The World” http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181021-japans-unusual-way-to-view-the-world)
Gary Tucker, watercolorist in Boston organized a watercolor class in Kyoto (Japan) last fall, and Mito and I joined the trip from Boston. Many artist friends also attended the trip from various places such as Istanbul, Colorado, Boston, and Osaka. (Please visit Gary’s website: garytuckerartist.com/gallery/)
We found distinct beauties of Wabi-Sabi in Kyoto. I tried to capture them to express, and realized that it was much harder than I thought. However, it was a great learning opportunity for me to understand the Wabi-Sabi in Kyoto.
I found another interesting article about a new book translates 43 different Japanese words into English, introducing ideas that can help people in the West live differently. This article picked out seven of the most poignant. One of the seven is “Mono-no Aware”: the ephemeral nature of beauty – the quietly elated, bittersweet feeling of having been witness to the dazzling circus of life – knowing that none of it can last. When I saw this scene of Chion-In in the early morning, I felt the “Mono-no Aware”.
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190124-seven-words-that-can-help-us-to-be-a-little-calmer