Wabi Sabi is Not Wasabi

Quote de jour
"The Wabi-sabi philosophy acknowledges three things: nothing is perfect, nothings lasts forever, nothing is finished."

If you enjoy Japanese cuisine, you know wasabi is the hot green paste that can blow your head off. You may or may not be familiar with Wabi Sabi, the Japanese esthetic of imperfect beauty. It's the beauty of worn stones and the patina on bronze. It's the lines on our faces to show we have lived. It's a new way of looking at old things to find an unexpected beauty.

There is an old abandoned greenhouse in Elmsford, N.Y. Some of  windows are broken, allowing nature to go wild. Trees, weeds and ivy grow rampant. Most people might think it's a hideous, old wreck, but I love it. It's for sale and perhaps it will find a new face-lifted life, or maybe it'll be torn down. Meanwhile, it is a photographic muse. So, what's the verdict? Beautiful or not?
 
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  • 2/25/2009 4:00 PM QuinnCreative wrote:
    Wonder how long that greenhouse has been abandoned? Look at the height and thickness of those vines! In the summer, it must look like the vines are taking over.
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  • 2/25/2009 6:29 PM Kathryn wrote:
    I love wrecked things actually. This greenhouse has a thousand stories to tell, many of them sad, but all worth telling.
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    1. 2/25/2009 9:01 PM Layla Morgan Wilde wrote:
      Yes, hundreds of seasons of stories.
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  • 2/25/2009 9:59 PM Minakshi wrote:
    Layla, I find the ivy covered windows very beautiful from an artist's POV. It is also a reminder that there is always hope to rebuild something beautiful on the ruins of a former glory.
    The vines and all freak me out ! I'd probably be scared to step in there. But I see your point. There is a strange pull in such run down places--they seem to be asking for someone to come and 'hear' their stories.
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  • 2/26/2009 8:10 AM Judi J wrote:
    Wonderful, there is a story here. There once was growth and activity, hustle and bustle to care for the plants, then what? The people left for some reason and then nature took over in it's wild and fantastic way. There was once the precision and now there is a wonderful kind of chaos that makes a new form of art. Twists, turns, changes, taking over what was and turning it into what is, the then and now, the yin and yang. How wonderful.
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  • 2/26/2009 2:10 PM Quinn wrote:
    I love it. I especially enjoyed the doorway shot. I do love my liminal zones and this one's a beauty! Thanks for the moment of serene beauty in my day.

    xo
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