LAW 77: Beauty and Abundance

Beauty is of course; according to the truism 'in the eye of the beholder', which leads to relativity. A thing's beauty is perceived on a sliding scale. It's position and rank on that scale is determined by human perception. Said perception depending on experience, mood, education, time of day. Any number of variables affect our response to things.

Some people would find this image of a rainy misty morning not beautiful. That is so sad.

Middle River misty rainy day

I have found myself thinking about this quite a bit lately; mostly because i have been reading Brian Walsh's thought provoking book,"Beautiful and Abundant".  What i resonate to in this well written, thoughtful exposition of positive thinking about the earth, humanity, and our mutual future is it's optimism. He has a very valid point; the environmental movement has been it's own worst enemy, the constant emphasis on the negative, horrible doom we face has discouraged many people from ever doing anything positive. Don't get me wrong, the book isn't perfect. I find it repetitive, but i am willing to overlook that because i find his position, his message invigorating. Yes, we all can do something to make this place we live in a better one. So stop whining and do it.

Okay, the meal is beautiful, and home made. Only one bowl qualifies.

The whole idea of beauty, particularly the idea of the beauty of handmade, functional things is one that i have spent a lot of time investigating and trying to implement in my home life as well as my artistic practice. Since i know a lot of artists many of the people i interact with are also involved in this life long investigation. Many of us have bought or traded works of art with friends, have experienced the thrill of strangers  admiring and purchasing art work we have made. Mungo and i have always wanted to know who made the things we use; a hard goal to achieve in a world that offers a plethora of cheaply made, inexpensive things from various third world countries. Don't get me wrong. Mass produced consumer goods can be beautiful. I own some fine examples. That does not however provide the feeling of  deep connection that is so satisfying that exits between the known maker and the thoughtful user.

Beauty everywhere, inspiration surely!

Karen Fiorini of Clay Lick Pottery posted an image and comment about customer satisfaction on her Facebook page, so Karen this one is for you. Ever since i read that, i've been thinking about the idea, Japanese of course, of Shibumi, the beauty of the everyday object, the object used, treasure, broken, mended. Loved. In 1997 we commissioned  Karen to create for us a set of four pasta plates. Our only request, we wanted cat imagery. Below you see an image of one plate, still  in use. It's 2016.

Frittata and mice?

As you can see from the empty plate image it has been well used. We still have all four of them. How many made in China objects can boast an all most 20 year life span, a lifespan of nearly daily use. This is not good china, brought out twice a year to impress the guest. These are beautiful, functional, handmade every day plates. This is Shibumi. Well done Karen!

There are signs of use, and love. Shibumi

More later,
Morgainne