I once saw a Kokedama at a Japanese plant shop in Brazil and this art blew my mind! I got one and I started to study all that I could about this technique, eventually returning to that store to attend their first workshop a year later.
When I learned that this art comes from a philosophy called Wabi Sabi, which is a Japanese aesthetic and philosophy that finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness; I felt like I had found the way to make my passion for plants my own business.
Without hegemonic concepts of beauty or perfection, being in contact with the earth that my Pachamama represents and respecting each plant as a sentient being and full of life.
Atahuallpa / Asheville, NC
“Wabi-sabi encourages people to accept things as they are, appreciate the present moment, and find beauty in simplicity”; that is perfection!
I have now been practicing the art of Kokedama for around 10 years and I am still just as excited and curious about the process as I was when I first started, just that now that feeling multiplies when I teach this wonderful art to others in my workshops.
I now experiment with different plants, soil composition and moss varieties. Every plant is unique and handcrafted for me at my casa taller.
ART 4 AID sales are split 80% to the artist and 20% to Grassroots AID Partnership. Learn more about GAP and how they continue to provide positive impact and support throughout Western North Carolina following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene