Karumi is the Japanese word for "lightness". The famous Japanese poet Basho used it to mean "the beauty of ordinary things spoken of in a simple way". He compared karumi to a shallow sandy river.
The spirit of Karumi can be understood as a disposition of lightheartedness that overcomes the burdens of the past and consciously ignores the shortcomings of the present while doing the unconventional.
All that in one fabulous word. Sounds like a good mindset to make your art. Yes?
From The Japanese House - A traditional for Contemporary Architecture by Heinrich Engel. The book is an out of print classic. I couldn't find any link or bio for the author.
2 comments:
I love Japanese style decoration and gardens. The very elegant art with flowers, Ikebana. The intriguing shapes of Origami. Unfortunately I am more a shabby chic girl so all this elegance is just to look at!
Wanted to tell you the name of this wonderful Queen's tears Bromeliad. It is a Billbergia nutans. Somewhere tugged away in my garden is one flowering on a tree.
Thank you, Titania!
I've long wondered what it's real name is, and now I know. Another week and I can put all my house plants back outside in the garden for the warmer months. It's 80 degrees today! We'll have cold and blustery a few more times, but it's on the way to warm.
Isn't it wonderful that in an hour and from the opposite side of the planet, in different seasons, instantly, we can have our questions answered and friendships bloom?
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