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The Beauty & Elegance of Imperfection
The Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi is centered around the idea that nothing in life is permanent, complete, or perfect. It has evolved in some circles into a lifestyle choice of celebrating the beauty of things as they are. Flaws are to be appreciated, not hidden.
Applying the Wabi-Sabi philosophy to woodworking doesn’t mean that sloppiness and shoddy quality work are to be celebrated. Instead, the intent becomes to realize that the natural beauty of wood is enhanced as a result of the long and often arduous growth process of a tree. This results in many fascinating and artistic qualities in each individual piece of wood that eventually become highlights in a table, rather than being seen as defects.
Make it stand out
In some table making, the emphasis is on finding the most perfectly matched pieces, with optimal alignment of the grain and consistent colors, staining the wood to further hone in on a certain desired palette, and then joining the pieces together into a slab.
When working with live-edge slabs, one gets a cross-section of the life of a tree and the hardships it has endured. It is misshapen and bent. It has been attacked by insects, disease, wind, water, hot, and cold. All of those scars collected over a lifetime become beauty marks when the wood is made into a table. And even after the tree has become a table, its natural colors will deepen over the ensuing years as the table matures. The understated elegance of live edge furniture allows one to pause and truly marvel at the magnificent powers of nature that we so often overlook.