Are you longing to go deeper in your connection to nature, your relationship with life, and your appreciation of the arts? Do you feel energized by quiet spaces, introspection, subtlety, or meditation? Are you an art and garden lover, or a designer?
This program--focused on traditional Japanese culture, its love of nature, and Zen-related arts--offers the opportunity to pause, attune yourself to design choices, have an immersive experience, and reflect on the values that are foundational to the aesthetics of Japan.
ART and AESTHETICS
Come and learn about Wabi, Sabi, the beauty of empty space, asymmetry, transience, tranquility, and other qualities of beauty highly valued by the Japanese. Our focus will be on design choices associated with the arts associated with Tea Ceremony, Japanese flower arranging (Ikebana), and Stone Gardens design.
We'll look at beautiful slides that illuminate the setting of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, from mossy 'dewy ground' gardens to the rustic tea huts they surround, to the serene space within which the ceremony takes place. You'll learn how every aspect of the guest’s experience is carefully designed to create a contemplative experience and awareness of nature.
Next we'll look at what makes Japanese flower arranging (Ikebana) distinctive. Originally practiced by Buddhist monks, Ikebana's use of asymmetry and "empty space" offers a beautiful way to recognize and embrace life in all its irregularity and "imperfection."
To conclude we'll dive into the minimalism of Japanese dry landscape gardens, and the elements that compose them (stones, gravel, and moss). The simplicity of these gardens creates a space to experience peace and mindfulness.
HOW IT CONNECTS TO YOU
Following the slide talk, you'll have an opportunity to stroll and contemplate the Bloedel Reserve's beautiful Japanese Garden (which includes a dry landscape garden) and Moss Garden. (See links below.) It's part of a meditative exercise in which you are invited to go deeper--keying in to visual strategies that you've encountered--and reflecting on how design choices interact with your experience.
Lastly, we'll reconvene to anonymously share our thoughts and insights (written during the stroll) with the larger group. Participants at previous events have remarked that this communal sharing is a unique and profoundly moving way to end the day.
