Wabi-Sabi Art Workshop: Mixed Media Techniques for Embracing Imperfection and Celebrating Happy Accidents

One of the two art technique books I took with me on my beach vacation recently was Wabi-Sabi Art Workshop by Serena Barton. LOVE this book!! First of all I love the wabi-sabi (Japanese) theory of "an approach to life and art that's in harmony with nature, one that values handmade and rustic and recognizes the impermanence of life." Embracing imperfection. That's a good thing. Serena's many techniques and projects provide great springboards in creating your own art using a wide variety of mediums-including cold wax (which I'd never heard of before). There are detailed step outs and product explanations through out, as well as lots of gallery art showcasing these techniques. Also, Serena has chosen the most beautiful haikus which are sprinkled over 120 some pages for further inspiration. My newest art projects based on the theories and lessons in Serena's book have taken on a whole new organic and natural feel and I love it! Thumbs up!

I actually really love this book. The one thing that I feel is less than great about it is this ~ some of the instructions do not jibe with the photos presented for each step, so in some cases you've got to use your imagination to figure out exactly what the author has done -- because the words don't match the photo. Also, the pieces that she creates step by step are never shown as finished pieces. The finished pieces shown for each project are NOT the piece that's worked on in the instructions. So you don't always know exactly where you're going or what the results of the step-by-step instructions will actually lead to. Otherwise it's a really wonderful book.

Wabi Sabi - what a fun name and what fun I have had trying out this style of art. This is a lovely book and applying what i have learnt has added a completely new dimension to what I had previously been doing. Judging by my friends and family's enthusiastic comments about my Wabi Sabi artistic efforts, this book has definitely assisted me to produce some very appealing art works in mixed media.Wabi Sabi Art Workshop has broadened my horizons and enabled me to be able to think and apply paint and mixed media Wabi Sabi Style to great effect! Try it out and be amazed at the beautiful, liberating art you will produce, think out of your box!

Intention and content are lovely. I enjoy the use of inks as glazes, they work well and she gives many examples of great pieces. There are instructions for steps if you want to do similar pieces and Serena has wax work that is fresh. I have read it twice and use it as a reference as well. Every day beauty with every day applications for creative projects.

This book is exactly what I was hoping it would be...a self-help guide to "beef-up" my collages. Bundling the Wabi-Sabi concept with haiku ensures a transformative mental process to "get one going." Loved the book.

This book was inspirational to me bringing to light a new aspect of art. It contained many good thoughts and ideas for new projects. The possibilities are endless. The author explains herself well and carries out her craft bringing the reader right along with photographs. I recommend it strongly to anyone who wants to experiment with a different form of art.

Great, abstracted techniques for handling unplanned challenges in your mixed media work. Very thoughtful, elegant advice and descriptions of process. I am quite pleased with the content and quality of such within this text; it's been very helpful in opening my mind to new ways of considering materials and their manipulation. I highly recommend this text to anyone with Type A tendencies--you'll learn a lot of useful new ways to approach structure. :)

If you are only going to purchase a few books in the field of mixed media, make sure one of them is Wabi-Sabi. It is easy to understand, but is not written "down" to us. There are a multitude of different techniques with lots of wonderful examples. It is an wonderful experience from which you will learn alot while becoming excited to see things in a new way. Not only will you learn a lot, you will also have a lot of fun doing it.

This is an interesting book. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it as I have only recently come across the wabi-sabi idea. It can be a little bit 'precious' in places but I think it is interesting to go through and I am glad I bought it and will doubtless turn to it now and again for the various techniques and ideas it contains. Don't expect deep and meaningful though.

I bought this book a couple of years ago when exploring the ideas of wabi-sabi and have just re-visited it. Serena's opening premise of " finding inspiration and beauty in the ordinary" is good but I am afraid that, for me, the materials she chose to use were far from the ordinary or simple things I have regularly in my art box or home. I do not have several shades of re- inkers, rubbing alcohol, cold wax medium, Micaecious Iron Oxide acrylic paint, etc etc. There are some simple items along with the acrylic paints, gel medium, glaze medium and so on such as paper towels, tissues paper, coffee granules and some of the finished work looked interesting but I fancy the book will return to the bottom of the pile.

It was a bit too way out for me in the practice of it, but could relate to the theory. I now can look at things from a different angle now, perhaps that is what the book was intending to do. Most of the samples were based on encaustic paint, which means buying a whole selection of another media. But I will certainly use some of the ideas in my own work with the media and techniques I have.

Great for those who wish to experiment in creating texture in their work.The illustrations are inspirational and at the same time the book is a comprehensive 'how to' manual for both the beginner and the experienced artist who wishes to branch out into other methods of experimentation.

Its a nice book but I'm not sure how Wabi-Sabi it is? I'd need to study it and the meaning of WS further.