Wabi sabi is a concept that resonates strongly with me, I am a natural Dyer and I feel my work is really about being fully connected to nature and the beauty of what might be considered as
' imperfection ' to others, to me is exciting and far more interesting. I frequently get asked what if you can't recreate the colour? what if it doesn't fully match? This western idea of beauty is not something I apply to my work, always looking for colour matching and perfection is not something that fullfills me.
My most exciting colourways are the mottled skeins of wool with unplanned pops of stronger shades of colour I don't control the outcome, I let it happen, and that is where the beauty is for me, the idea that it has become a colour without my intervention, it will also change in shade and colour over time as it fades creating a new colour which will be beautiful in a different way. The acceptance of this process is what I consider wabi sabi to be.
As you knit with the wool it is always a surprise seeing the colour develop row by row and you know you can't reproduce it making it truly unique.
After reading an article written by Richard Martin he discusses the quote by Leonard Koren
'wabi sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanence and incomplete,it is the beauty of things modest and humble it is a beauty of things unconventional.''
Visible wool repairs in a natural wool pink.
It helped me understand the concept of wabi sabi even more consciously after reading Richard Martin's piece incorporating it into my everyday life aside from applying it to my natural dyeing. Appreciation of the simple beauty of everyday objects and our surroundings that we tend to overlook. For example; the beauty of an object ageing,copper verdigris ( greening) is one of the most beautiful colours to me,age and weathering making it imperfectly perfect.
Large 19th C Cauldron showing beautiful age and greening.
An example of this from my wardrobe is a cardigan I knit in a natural alpaca eight years ago, it has been worn, repaired and has faded from a brighter mellow yellow to a faded shade, originally dyed with tansy, I love it even more over time and it evokes feelings of melancholy for me, memories in every stitch and from every wear, with its repairs and tears and marks making it even more special. I love the visible mending showing its wear and imperfections, why hide it ,signs of wear are beautiful to me ,telling a story of the garment or textile also learning to accept imperfections and seeing their beauty.
Look closely and with attention to the fine detail of your archive textiles
Represent this detail through self directed approach to your drawing.
I decide to focus on the cuff and the cardigan.
Firstly the Cobain cardigan looking at the worn heavy texture of the mohair with pen marks. The cigarette burn on the button band and lastly the discoloration on the pocket of the left hand side of cardigan.
I opted for a pen to highlight the imperfections creating heavy darker marks,also shading with the pen to highlight the pockets on the knitwear.
The burn mark shown with a brown paint on White A4 Paper.
I find the inside of the cuff just as beautiful, the neatness of the stitching and the threads and loops showing ,I also find the vertical stitch Marks so simple compared to the front side showing more about the stitch technique and how simple a complex stitch can be. You can learn a lot more about the construction of the textile when looking at the inside of the work, equally as impressive, beautiful and interesting.
' imperfection ' to others, to me is exciting and far more interesting. I frequently get asked what if you can't recreate the colour? what if it doesn't fully match? This western idea of beauty is not something I apply to my work, always looking for colour matching and perfection is not something that fullfills me.
My most exciting colourways are the mottled skeins of wool with unplanned pops of stronger shades of colour I don't control the outcome, I let it happen, and that is where the beauty is for me, the idea that it has become a colour without my intervention, it will also change in shade and colour over time as it fades creating a new colour which will be beautiful in a different way. The acceptance of this process is what I consider wabi sabi to be.
As you knit with the wool it is always a surprise seeing the colour develop row by row and you know you can't reproduce it making it truly unique.
After reading an article written by Richard Martin he discusses the quote by Leonard Koren
'wabi sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanence and incomplete,it is the beauty of things modest and humble it is a beauty of things unconventional.''
Colour difference from inside pocket to outside pocket.
It helped me understand the concept of wabi sabi even more consciously after reading Richard Martin's piece incorporating it into my everyday life aside from applying it to my natural dyeing. Appreciation of the simple beauty of everyday objects and our surroundings that we tend to overlook. For example; the beauty of an object ageing,copper verdigris ( greening) is one of the most beautiful colours to me,age and weathering making it imperfectly perfect.
Large 19th C Cauldron showing beautiful age and greening.
An example of this from my wardrobe is a cardigan I knit in a natural alpaca eight years ago, it has been worn, repaired and has faded from a brighter mellow yellow to a faded shade, originally dyed with tansy, I love it even more over time and it evokes feelings of melancholy for me, memories in every stitch and from every wear, with its repairs and tears and marks making it even more special. I love the visible mending showing its wear and imperfections, why hide it ,signs of wear are beautiful to me ,telling a story of the garment or textile also learning to accept imperfections and seeing their beauty.
1.6 detail and definition
Aims
Look closely and with attention to the fine detail of your archive textiles
Represent this detail through self directed approach to your drawing.
I decide to focus on the cuff and the cardigan.
Firstly the Cobain cardigan looking at the worn heavy texture of the mohair with pen marks. The cigarette burn on the button band and lastly the discoloration on the pocket of the left hand side of cardigan.
I opted for a pen to highlight the imperfections creating heavy darker marks,also shading with the pen to highlight the pockets on the knitwear.
The burn mark shown with a brown paint on White A4 Paper.
The cuff , inside the cuff detail of embroidery stitches.
I find the inside of the cuff just as beautiful, the neatness of the stitching and the threads and loops showing ,I also find the vertical stitch Marks so simple compared to the front side showing more about the stitch technique and how simple a complex stitch can be. You can learn a lot more about the construction of the textile when looking at the inside of the work, equally as impressive, beautiful and interesting.
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