I'm also thinking about a commission for a gear or cog in 14kt, that is going to be a very small pin. I'm making it for Bill Humphries and when I described what I was thinking about, he suggested that I meant the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. I was thinking about a cog or gear the was not symmetrical one that had aged and changed. He was very right. It's a fine uber concept within which to consider the piece. I'm seeing pictures in my mind that I really like. This one is going to take a while to mature in my head.
There is also the possibility of an alien cog or gear.
On another note, my doctor gave me anitbiotics for my clinging bug, so hopefully I'll get better real soon now.
"Wabi-sabi (侘寂?) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The phrase comes from the two words wabi and sabi. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" (according to Leonard Koren in his book Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers). It is a concept derived from the Buddhist assertion of the Three marks of existence (三法印, sanbōin?), specifically impermanence (無常, mujō?)"
"From an engineering or design point of view, wabi-sabi may be interpreted as the imperfect quality of any object, due to inevitable limitations in design and construction/manufacture especially with respect to unpredictable or changing usage conditions; then "sabi" could be interpreted as the aspect of imperfect reliability, or limited mortality of any object, hence the etymological connection with the Japanese word sabi, to rust."
quotes are from Wikipedia
Mood: hopeful
In L.A., when they were nearly finished, some psycho in the watching crowd vaulted up onto the platform and started dancing through their work, instantly making a shambles of it. The crowd was aghast. The monks laughed.
The acknowledgement of transience makes a big difference in one's outlook and esthetics! "Wabi sabi" increases the value of some artistic craftsmanship.