Wabi-sabi is an old Japanese aesthetic term for the idea that the little imperfections in a piece of art are intrinsic to its beauty and value.
For example, hand-blown glass always has a little mark that shows where it was finally disconnected from the blowpipe. Machine-blown glass doesn’t have that. Is it more correct to have a perfectly smooth surface, or to see a little blemish that is evidence of the work of human hands?
And if human handiwork always entails a little wabi-sabi, does that mean people have some wabi-sabi, too?
Colin Steele 