“The golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, 

one of excess and the other of deficiency.” 

‘Imbued Serenity’ looks at the interplay of order and randomness that is found when man and nature unite. This relationship can be seen as both a harmonious and incongruous on one’s quest to find balance. I focus on the embodiment of the landscape rather than a direct representation. Looking closely, you discover there is complex activity; patterns and surfaces can appear both random and organized and evocative of weathered or altered states resulting from exposure to the elements. 

 

By exploring the works of Alice Fox and Junko Oki I have found inspiration in their use of imperfect materials that embraces delicacy and beauty in organic forms. Beauty is found in the detail of organic things. According to Greek philosophy, there is a close association in mathematics between beauty and truth with the ingredients required for beauty being symmetry, proportion and harmony. The characteristics of Wabi Sabi  also plays a large part of this exploration looking at the idea of beauty in imperfection. “wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.’ Wabi now connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs. Beauty is the ‘harmony of contrasts.’