Sakura

19 August, 2019

My recent work is inspired by Japanese concepts wabisabi, seeing beauty in imperfection; kintsugi, the repair of broken porcelain using gold; haiku, short poems of three lines / seventeen syllables.

Looking back I remember being fascinated by cherry blossom trees ever since I was a little girl.  As I grew older I began to look forward to their arrival, wondering when the first bud would appear... and then realising that they would be gone so soon.  Those delicate flowers are unable to hold on for very long.

Little did I realise that on the other side of the world, in Japan, people were celebrating Hanami - the flower viewing festival.  Just imagine: the blossom forecast "cherry blossom front" is announced by the weather man!  Their arrival is watched carefully by those planning hanami picnics and parties as the blossoms only last a week or two.

Well, the wait is over.  They have blossomed.  I have painted them.  My new body of work is called 'Sakura' meaning cherry blossom.  I have brought together my kintsugi bowls and the beauty of nature.  Deeply imbued with symbolism and meaning the cherry blossom represents fragility, beauty and preciousness of life.

I have even penned a few lines .

 SAKURA

 Look up

 Watch them
 shiver
 in the breeze

 Petals falling
 like pink snow
 on my upturned face

My inspiration comes from familiar things; a simple tea bowl, a flower, a hen, a fish... to create exquisite tea bowls with golden cracks, majestic moon jars with golden seams, exotic fruit, flamboyant hens, cockerels and other creatures.  The paintings of chawan and moonjars evoke the idea that although broken and mended, the intrinsic beauty remains, the flaw is enhanced and given respect, its preciousness restored.

 

If you would like to see more visit Blossoms Berries Branches