Creating Photos and Poetry to Explore “Wabi-Sabi”: the Japanese Art of Everyday Life

Wabi and sabi are Japanese concepts that underlie a mindful approach to everyday life. There is reverence for impermanence, imperfection, ageing - beauty which is simple, unpretentious, austere-elegant, natural and unpolished, tranquil. First we’ll explore what wabi-sabi means through readings and published artwork. Then we’ll experiment with creating our own photographs to illustrate wabi-sabi and write simple haiku-like verses to go with the photos. Required text: Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets, and Philosophers, ISBN: 1-88065-612-4. Cost: $8.45 (used).

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Jacquelyn Schechter (jjschech@earthlink.net), PhD, is a contemplative-trained psychologist and photographer who became interested in traditional Japanese Zen cultural influences, especially t

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