Imperfection frees creativity

Photo: zen garden for a moment by Genista

During my first trip to California a few years ago, I was stunned by its ever-present natural beauty: the Redwood forests, the rugged Pacific coastline, the pre-dusk marine layer rolling over the hills surrounding San Francisco, the Mediterranean-like climate.

At this time, I also discovered the concept of wabi-sabi. Since that moment, my creativity has been liberated from the trap of perfectionism.

At its essence, wabi-sabi is an acceptance that nothing is perfect and all things are in a constant state of flux; in this imperfection and transience is beauty.

In Japanese aesthetic culture, to incorporate wabi-sabi into artistic creations ensures that the work is real, authentic. Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), bonsai and Zen gardens, pottery, and Haiku poetry illustrate wabi-sabi principles.

The next time you write or draw or dance, keep wabi-sabi in mind. Let imperfections and "mistakes" come through. Let your human side shine. Relax, and be real. See what you get.

Comments

[Luc Debaisieux]

KG, excellent post. I do feel connected to understanding the limits of perfectionism.
Did you ever hear about Stefan G. Bucher's DAILY MONSTER? Basically Stefan frees his creativity by blowing on ink spots he drops on a paper. He then "translates" the spot into a Monster. Insightful as he challenges other artists to tell a story about his monster and now also to interpret the "open source spots" he blows. You should check an example here :

http://344design.typepad.com/344_loves_you/2007/01/daily_monster_7.html

PS : Also check Katie Chatfield's yesterday post :

http://katiechatfield.wordpress.com/2007/08/06/drawn-to-imperfection/

[KG]

Hi Luc! Thanks for your interesting insight into this aspect of being human. I'll also check out the links you recommend. :)

[Mimi Lenox]

Great advice. Authenticity is always the way to go. Ugly or not.

[KG]

Mimi — Authenticity, absolutely! Nice to "see" you here. :)

[Verna Wilder]

Oh, I love this! When I started blogging, I was surprised to find myself just throwing the words out there, letting go of logic to find chaos, which often seems to take me back to some kind of skewed logic. I type the posts, give them a quick once-over for typos, and click Publish. Wabi-sabi!

I'm enjoying your blog very much. Thank you for being so eclectic and so readable.

[KG]

Hi Verna — Glad you're enjoying your visit here! Sounds like you've captured wabi-sabi blogging. :)