Ever used wabi-sabi?

I appreciate the philosophy and find examples of it everywhere. Although sometimes it’s an excuse to keep shitty-looking stuff lying around.

In reading the wikipedia entry I felt a very strong sense of this being familiar and known.
I’ve always loved things that are old, hurt, repaired, or used. When I make art, if it gets
too “slick” I rough it up. I’m with pup, I notice things with this quality; I crave their
message; they cheer me up.

HAHAHA @ PupnTaco! I agree. I do not really like that style, but to each his own. I do not knock it either, but there is a thin line between what some people consider a part of this type of decorating, and crap. Ya know?

I recently restored a very old, massive bench vise for someone who had salvaged it from the trash. All of the metal surfaces were very rusted, so I sandblasted and buffed and painted and otherwise fussed over it until it looked like new. I was about to make a new wooden handle for it too, but luckily I realized in time how beautiful that old piece of oak was, stained and burnished by a century’s worth of craftsmen’s hands. The finished product did look a bit odd with that venerable dowel against the bright new surfaces, but I figured that in another 20 years or so of use it will even out a bit.