Wabi Kusa

The string gardens evolved from he kokedama called to mind wabi-kusa for me. I think in alot of ways the wabi-kusa remind me more of the string gardens than the kokedama even.

An example of wabi-kusa

From another angle & close up-

So what is the definition of these little plant balls? The term was coined by ADA, the company founded by Takashi Amano, and is a combination of Wabi-Sabi and Kusa. Wabi-Sabi is a pretty loaded descriptor and is difficult to summarise with only a few words. One of my older favourite definitions was “flawed beauty.” It packs in many subtleties into the combination of two two words and even the wikipedia article is pretty brief in trying to describe it. Kusa translates in this context along the lines of weeds or grass. I could be a smart ass and say wabi-kusa roughly translates as flawed beautiful weeds. That wouldn’t actually be too far off the mark though.

Amano was originally known for masterfully control freak planted aquariums such as-

Which makes it refreshing that he came up with, or at least the company he actively heads, released in a catalogue a few years ago these fun wabi kusa fellows. The intent is something far more free form and unmanaged than typical work that he approves of. Of course it means that the initial construction must be thought of, care must be taken to imagine how the combined materials will grow out in the environment that they are placed in. But part of the intent is just that, to watch how it grows and evolves-

What makes me think of these as being more similar to the string gardens than even the kokedama that inspired them is that for both forms part of the intent behind them is to create them then sit back and and enjoy observing the process of what happens afterwards, on its own. To suggest that they don’t require care would be misleading but part of caring for them is less about controlling them and more about tending to them so that they can be allowed to find their own balance, this is more literal with the string gardens that are suspended but true for both.

I get the impression that the kokedama, being derived from bonsai, still take more attention to shaping and directing. I could be entirely wrong since my kokedama research (hard core since I spent all of a day on and off looking about for info about them, oh yes, i’m a slackardly highly motivated, but sometimes time crunched obsesser before I scuttle on to the next thing to freak out about. Ahem, but yes, being derived from bonsai, I get the impression that kokedama is more focused on directing the growth and appearance to the desired form.

I’m going to guess that all these forms and methods will continue to obsess me for a long time to come. Some of them have plagued me for a few years already. I’ve been a bit ostrich like with my head in the sand and not engaging with or doing anything for quite awhile though. Maybe this blog which makes me actively think about and look into thing will help change that a bit. I hope so. Being able to create something even a tiny bit as fascinating as these-

would definately be an improvement in life.

I’ll probably be dragging the aquatic chatter over to Menagerie Meanderings in the future though. This would be one of the tangents where people asked me what I’d do about post cross over. It is problematic but I think those few problems are going to be easier to deal with than having something that looks like someone with MPD fought over a single wordpress.com account.

Kokedama, The Search Is Futile

I wanted to know more about these pleasing lil Kokedama guys-

Ok, here’s where I admit my powers of online research fail me. I’m not even going to provide references or links right now. Here’s the general, and I will keep it brief, outline of what I can get about Kokedama..
It began in Japan, not surprising. It’s like some, and the phrase is purely American, poor man’s bonsai. Which leads to its relationship to bonsai and me saying, I don’t think that’s a fair asessment of Kokedama.
ETA drank a cup of tea, read some more, did some strike through and editing this again.

I read some forum threads of people getting pretty agitated about who had the right to define what bonsai was or wasn’t, and if kokedama was a form of it or not. While reading some really irritating commentaries on that I found very little about the origins of it. What I got to review again was more about the history of bonsai.
Putting On Pedantic Hat
Bonsai as an activity is quite old. However, about every hundred years or so the who,what, when, where, why, and how of it all has changed, sometimes even more frequently. The take on it that I feel like I’m getting from people who value gardening, with an emphasis on traditional Japanese gardening and bonsai in particular is that the culture is changing and Bonsai will change with it. That seems to be pretty much in keeping with how it has changed so far over the centuries. Obviously kokedama is such a departure that it has its own name. The subjects are rarely trees, far more frequently they are plants though sometimes shrubs.

Across the world things in almost every culture is are speeding up. In some ways that is very sad to me. Things; concepts, ideals, values,can be lost or forgotten or so changed that they are no longer recognizable. On the flip side it’s also exciting to see how traditional values, forms, methods are adapted

One Japanese blogger summed it up with, “moss balls or kokedama, are the less fussy cousin of bonsai where rules and methodology reign supreme.”
One of her kokedama-

I would be sad to see things so changed that everything invested in one method were lost. I don’t see that happening here though. I do wonder, and ultimately doubt that kokebama comes anywhere near being a substitute for bonsai. A quote that has left an impresion on me is that bonsai is an art form and not just a plant (or tree) in a pot because it seeks to represent an ideal of a tree.

I think the kokebama can be beautiful. I understand that for many things the context in which it is in is part of the art, but for something like the kokebama I think it’s of larger importance. Is something art just because it’s pretty? Ok Enough Of That. Back to strictly cute kokedama
so I’ll just…
Whipping off pedantic hat and hopping off of teetering soapbox I managed to step up on while pacing and diatribing.

I would like to try one and do photos as it grew into itself-

And 1 more because how can you not love a mossy rabbit?-

Back to String Gardens

Still not over my obsession and doing some more poking around and found some (few) pic of the process of making them.

Materials assembled to begin constructing a piece of string garden-

I’m going to guess that like the nature aquariums of Takashi Amano that there are a few ways to perceive the construction of these. Initially for many, I think, there is the perception of beauty, intricacy and appreciation of their construction. Then it, again my perception, appears as though it couldn’t be too complicated to create, right? Then when you begin to actually attempt to duplicate the process.. My guess is going to be if (when) I try to do this I’m going to develop a new appreciation for the difficulty of the process

The comparison of String Gardens and Kokedama has been touched on repeatedly. I’m not familiar enough with Kokedama to know what it is other than being able to point at a pic and identify it. I’m going to guess though that they aren’t meant as ephemeral displays, or at least weren’t originally as an art form. It’s hard for me to not jump String Gardens->kokedama->bonsai. Or maybe I need a little balloon brainstorming bubble pic. Regardless I wonder about the intent behind these displays. Bonsai is clearly both intended to last and endure beyond the original creator. What about the kokedama creations? And what was Fedor’s intention with the String Gardens? Were they envisioned as something beautiful and striking for simply being different? He’s been quoted as talking about the plant finding its balance as it grows suspended. I have to wonder looking at pieces like this though-

and-

Those two pictures are carnivorous plants and the ones displayed are bog plants. To the best of my knowledge and experience caring for them they have some while not difficult requirements demanding ones. I question how well these plants would do long term suspended in bright light.

I become less thrilled when I explore more and see images like that; plants that couldn’t survive in the pictured environment. It’s one thing, to me, to style a photo. It’s another thing to create something unreal. That sounds silly, yes? Many photos are unreal but I mean in terms of being unsustainable and unrealistic while portraying itself as being so or at least giving no indication that it isn’t. I’ll hop off that train now though before I become completely derailed and back to String Gardens…

What does thrill me again is the thought of trying to take a plant, like the carnivorous plants, that has specific care requirements, the humidity, the bright shaded light (thanks carnivore plants, that one is totally easy to deliver, right?) etc. and trying to meet those requirements in a nonstandard manner, such as with these String Gardens. That to me adds another level of complexity and lovely to the care and display of something both fascinating and beautiful.

I’d like to try my hand at this but if/when I do give it a go I think I’d start out with something like an orchid-

These are, again, lovely.. But also seem very well suited w/ their care and needs to this kind of growing method. The challenge, for me, with many things isn’t creating something, it’s maintaining it. I think some of the orchid family would lend themselves well to being cared for like this and be a good introductory for me….

String Gardens & I’m A Stalker

I don’t remember where I first saw these online. It was 2 or 3 days ago and since then my brain has been flooded with most of what the internet has to offer on them, I think. The creator of the concept appears to be Fedor Van Der Valk and being a crazy stalker type I had to hunt down the source of all this amazing so-
Fedor Van Der Valk on FaceBook. I don’t recommend just randomly hunting people down and friending them and then acting like you’re best friends. I do find it interesting to see what inspires people who create beautiful things. Looking at something like Fedor’s facebook page is even more interesting, to me, because while his concept is catching on like wildfire his online presence is that of an average person, not a carefully curated persona. I’m impressed by how people create personas online, I’m even more impressed when it’s who they are; when a person has such strong sense of self, what they like and what they care about that they and by default their life is unified and focused. That’s not me, it’s also not how many, many people in the world are. So it’s interesting to see what influences someone who has created something new and beautiful. I’m wanting to watch Shallow Grave & To Skin A Cat now.

Back to those string gardens.

Fedor’s site can be found at String Gardens, and that is where the first two images are from as well.

If String gardens tickle your fancy the more grounded version that might make you giggle as well is a Kokedama-
Waiting for permission from photographer. I have a new favourite pic of the day.

An aquatic/terrestrial look that is somewhat similar is Wabi-Kusa –

A completely aquatic aquarium that reminds me of all of the above mentioned styles

That pic came from a Russian site, NATOBA I have no hope of understanding but they do have other lovely aquariums and not surprisingly the site owner also has an interest in wabi-kusa.

Alright, from aerial to fully aquatic these little islands of foilage have been dominating my thoughts all weekend. I thought maybe posting would excorcise the demons but now it’s only gotten worse. Liking this posession though.