Quote



“As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled, so I, born in the world, raised in the world having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world
To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear. Water surrounds the lotus flower, but does not wet its petals.”
The Buddha -- Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Duyen



Duyen in Vietnamese means 'meant to be'

A few months ago i went to an exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art to see a special exhibition on the ceramic tradition of Korea ... after the exhibition i went to the gift shop / gallery area to see what's on display ... one piece called for my attention in particular, it's a large bowl (about 14in in diameter), the inside has crystalline glaze which normally  i am not a fan of because of the glossy finish ... but the bowl's color, a light blueish lavender, was very soothing to my eyes that i decided to get it ... at the cash register i noticed a tiny crack, about 1/3 of an inch, at the rim, which was easily blended in with the design of the bowl  ...  naturally the transaction was off and the person helping me said ' let's find out what the artist thinks about this'  ... i felt kinda sad because the bowl was defected but i reminded myself of the Japanese philosophy of 'wabi sabi' which beautifies the the nature of imperfection so i did not mind to have it but at the same time i didn't want to pay full price for the bowl either :-) ... the artist, Tom Wallick, was not around so the lady in charge of the studios asked for my information and she would let me know once she talked to him and she even asked me how much i wanted the piece to be discounted and i told her i would let him decide and i told her that i really like the look of the bowl.   

A few days later, i got an email from her saying that Tom wanted me to have the bowl if i still like it.  I was so surprised and really appreciated his generosity.  I think probably to him anything that's not perfect to his eyes is not worth selling ... talking about making art for art sake, not money ... how beautiful! imho ...  i guess it's duyen that i have this lovely bowl :-)

There was another piece by Tom that i like very much, a plate which has the same glaze but different color and since Tom gave me the bowl i decided to get the plate which again meant i have duyen with it too :-)