Wabi Sabi really is in the spirit of contemplative photography.  It’s seeing the imperfect and appreciating its beauty and it’s loveliness.  And it's the challenge for my small photography group for our April meeting..

One of the things that interested me in Wabi Sabi is the approach:

• Quieting your Mind
• Understanding
• Accepting (the Wabi Sabi that is in front of you)
• Appreciating

I discovered that when I had Wabi Sabi on my mind before I went photographing that thinking about imperfection and patterns that can be broken helped me to “see” differently.  I looked with a quiet mind, a peaceful mind.  And then the subject came to me.  And how I wanted to photograph it came to me.  

Often my thinking about photographing the object or the person, changed a bit once I spent time trying to “understand”.  Often I tried several approaches while being very thoughtful in between.  I also made some connections that were important to me…. The unicorn hand carved in Jamaica and the worn unicorn toy that Marie had when she was much younger.  Seeing connections about representing an object even made it more beautiful.

There are some connections that I made, but didn’t necessary decide to show as a part of my 5 selected photos.  One thing that really interested me was the aspect of time.  When I walked, I saw the sundial at Lawrence, the clock between Main Hall and the Library.  When I went around the house, I saw another aspect of “Time” and that was the metronome.  Mechanical, with its clicking back and forth and the spring that winds it up to work.  Now, we just use something digital and forget about the graceful arc of the metronome.  It caused me to think of time differently and to appreciate “time” in music as opposed to “keeping time” to make sure that you are there for appointments or not. 

The Carved Unicorn

My desire to even consider taking photos of the Unicorn was prompted about thinking about Easter and all the fun we used to have with gathering Easter Eggs.  Instead of trying to re-create that, I started digging around my daughter's room….the things that she left behind.

I didn’t realize that she left behind certain stuffed animals.  There were the animals that I insisted that she leave behind….Big Bear, The Red Bear, the Paddington Bear.  But she left behind some others as well.  And the one that really surprised me was her well-worn unicorn.

Well, that got me thinking.  The unicorn looked a little scruffy.  It could have been classified as “neglected” rather than the "well worn" characteristic of Wabi Sabi.  The white looked a little darker with the dirt of being dragged from place to place.  Probably a better way to describe it is that the unicorn was constantly with her:  when we were traveling in the car, watching TV at night, in her bed overnight, and next to her in the kitchen when she ate breakfast.  There was a long period of time when she was inseparable from her unicorn.  Her affinity with the unicorn stuffed animal went way beyond well worn.

I looked around her room a bit more to search for more treasures that she left behind and became re-acquainted with her carved unicorn.  It was sitting amidst all of her sporting trophies.  That would be a picture in and of itself.  Nothing "well worn" about the unicorn; it had stood the test of time.

As I looked at the unicorn, I realized how ugly it really is.  But there is a story behind it.  And going from understanding to appreciating is an aspect of Wabi Sabi that is important to me.  Going over the story helps me to understand and appreciate the significance of the carved Unicorn.

The Carved Unicorn Story

I was in Jamaica with my friends for a long weekend.  We were staying at a wonderful place called the Plantation Inn.  We had a wonderful place overlooking the beach.  And it provided a haven from the busyness of Jamaica.  A haven that one person in our friend group really appreciated; she preferred staying at the Inn and ordering pizza to eat in the room while enjoying the rhythm of the surf crashing outside of our balcony.

We did go to the market and while there all of the merchants were aggressive about selling their wares.  There was a wood carver that had some interesting items. I lingered at this booth, closely examining the items there, but not finding the exact thing I was looking for as a gift.   I guess I missed my daughter or I had promised her something special to bring home.  She loved unicorns so I thought I could get this woodcarver to make her something since nothing else seemed to suggest an appropriate gift for my daughter. 

I should have realized that wood carver didn’t know anything about unicorns when we were trying to describe it.  My friends and I tried desperately to draw or gesture or somehow show him what a unicorn was.  It caused other "shoppers" to join in the conversation and it seemed like he was understanding what we were talking about.  This whole scene lasted for about 15 minutes or so.  Finally, I handed over $25 for him to carve it and then to wrap it.  I wanted it wrapped so that I could carry it on board the plane, pop it in the overhead bin, and bring it home safely.  We picked up this item wrapped in newspaper, sight unseen, on our way to the airport.

"Sight unseen" should have been a big clue.

My daughter couldn’t help but see the package when I got home.  She unwrapped it.  There were layers of newspaper and bubble wrap to rip through.  And then she saw it.  In all of its ugliness.

She didn’t say much.  She put it in her bedroom on her chest of drawers.  She was glad that I brought something back, but she wasn’t happy about it’s look.

It has been in her room over 20 years.  It still sits on the chest of drawers with lots of trophies surrounding it.  When friends came over for sleepovers, they would comment about the wood carving and my daughter would tell the story.

When she moved to her new home, this is one article that stayed behind.  A reminder to Mom about her trip to Jamaica and the wood carving.  And having such an item paid for and given as a present, sight unseen.  And it is one of my treasured items and an example of an imperfect unicorn and appreciating a perfectly lovely story.

Other Photos Taken on Wabi Sabi theme and Their Connections

And, additionally, as I went through and took other photos in the spirit of Quieting my Mind, Understanding, Accepting, and Appreciating.

There are some connections that I made, but didn’t necessary decide to show as a part of my 5 Unicorn Story but was a part of the photos that I took during the month.  One thing that really interested me was the aspect of time.  When I walked, I saw the sundial at Lawrence, the clock between Main Hall and the Library.  When I went around the house, I saw another aspect of “Time” and that was the metronome.  Mechanical, with its clicking back and forth and the spring that winds it up to work.  Now, we just use something digital and forget about the graceful arc of the metronome.  It caused me to think of time differently and to appreciate “time” in music as opposed to “keeping time” to make sure that you are there for appointments or not. 

The last few years I've been thinking about writing a memoir.  Mostly because I don't want to forget the past and I want a story from my perspective that shares my life.

A couple of years ago, I started reading all sorts of memoirs to get ideas on how to craft such a story and to make it interesting to others besides myself.  I started downloading all sorts of books that had memoirs in their titles or in their descriptions.  A couple of examples from this background reading stood out to me.  One, in particular, involves photos.

Ever since I was a kid I was intrigued by the power of photos.  I can remember going to my Aunt's house and going through the drug store photo albums that she would carry around in her purse.  Today's equivalent of showing photos on your phone.  I would pour over these photos again and again.  I would ask her who the people were and the stories behind them.  That is how I got to know the relatives and family friends who lived in other places.  And the interesting stories about their lives and how their lives intertwined with my Aunt, my Grandparents, and my family.

One of the memoirs that I read during this time was the photo memoir by Sally Mann.  I was reminded about this earlier today because she has a new show opening and there was mention of her book, Still Life, in the description of her show.  I thought her approach of mixing photos and narrative was especially interesting and caused me to think about a similar approach, but done in my own way with my own story.

Since that time I've written many chapters to my memoir and discovered many cool photos.  Some of the photos were found at my Dad's house.  Some of the photos were taken at my Dad's house and made me recollect a story from my childhood.  One such story is suggested by this lone bicycle, still in the safety of my Dad's basement that I completely forgotten about but rode extensive 60 years ago.

The picture isn't much.  But the prettiness or the composition of the photograph isn't the point....it's the memories and the stories that it inspires in me.

This bike had a hard time.  It was my first bike and I rode it everywhere.  

In the beginning, I could only ride it to the corner, which is really only one house away.  I would sit for a long time on my bike and longingly look across the street at the playground that was in very much demand over the summer months.  One of the leaders saw my daily ritual and came over to my house to invite me to come to the park.  My Mom reluctantly agreed.  So, this leader would come over and pick me up in the morning and take me home at lunchtime and at the end of the day for a while.  Until I got the hang of crossing the street and coming over to the park by myself.

This was a freeing experience.  A whole new world opened up to me once I joined many others at the park and started becoming engaged in the games that went on there.  I changed my life.  I learned how to play, how to win at games, how to get picked on a softball teams, how to make craft projects, how to get along with others, how to get my way, and how to play all sorts of sports.  It opened up a big, big world of interactive fun.  Later, when I was in college, I worked at that same park as a playground leader for 2 summers.  I tried to return to other kids the advantages that Miss Melanie gave to me those long years ago.  I went to kids houses and invited them to the park.  I told parents about a field trip to the Brewer Game and told them I would take special care of their son and daughter.  All kindnesses to repay Miss Melanie when I was very young.

And that trike continued to be a source of transportation.  And a few other life lessons.  Like the time that I put it behind the car and it got very seriously injured.  You can see what happened to the seat in the picture.  The mangled front tire was replaced.  And I learned to never, ever put anything behind a parked car....a lesson that I adhere to to this very day.

There are many stories that are started by looking at photos of the past.  Now, I just have to read through those stories, edit them, make sure that I match the picture and the story, and just plain publish them.....

Sounds like a great way to write a memoir to me.  And in my own style.  With my own story.

One of my delights when visiting Barcelona earlier in March was to experience all of the places that had Stained Glass of some sort, including painted glass.  Usually I associate Stained Glass with churches, but on this trip I got a new appreciation of how Gaudi and the other Modernistas looked at Stained Glass and Painted Glass as a medium for interiors of all sorts.

First, let me start with some of the churches.  Places where you would expect Stained Glass to be present.  And the type of Stained Glass that you would expect to see; a rosette.  This window is at Santa Maria de Mar in Barcelona.

Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona

But I was also surprised by the variety of Stained Glass in this church.  I found another two that are extremely contemporary looking.

Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona These two set the scene for later in the week when I saw some quite stunning stain glass pieces by Gaudi and other Modernistas.  But first the Opera House.  A lovely piece on the ceiling that I admired before we saw the Opera, Carmen.

Palace of Catalan Music, Barcelona

A slightly different look....

Palace of Catalan Music, Barcelona

Now, onto one of Gaudi's houses...where the colored glass and the pattern of the molding make for some interesting interplays between the interior and the exterior.

Glass and Stained Glass, Palau Guell

And something a little more typical for the stained glass, with a nicely designed lamp to go with the mood of the room...

Lantern with Stained Glass in background at Palau Guell

And a couple more from the Museum of Catalan Art showcasing the different Modernista Stained Glass that was used for screens and doors.  These first couple are Triptichs.

Modernista Style, Catalan Art Museum, Barcelona

Modernista Style, Catalan Art Museum, Barcelona

And here is a lovely, lovely door. More of a painted door that has a lovely, inviting look from the interior to the exterior. Modernista Style, Catalan Art Museum, Barcelona

And the last, a glass screen that I would love to have in my own home, separating portions of large rooms.

Modernista Style, Catalan Art Museum, Barcelona

Hopefully, you can see how I fell in love with Stained and Painted Glass in Barcelona.  There was a lot there besides what you saw at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, which had an extremely lovely array of Stained Glass.  And it really does something to the mood of the room, filtering the light in all sorts of colorful arrays.  And, just plain makes you feel inspired.