What is art? I ran across this website today and was profoundly interested in this form of art called Dodorongo. It has a life application I think, which I will touch on in a moment. See if you catch my drift.
Wow. Something shiny and beautiful can be crafted from “dirt.” We should all practice art appreciation. Are you an artist? So many times we feel as if our lives are not “art.” We see them as a mess, or even as dirt. This website shows how to take dirt and make it into valuable shiny art for a coffee table, kitchen, night-stand, or anywhere really. People will marvel at the finished product and you will marvel further knowing what it was crafted from.
This is a direct quotation from the site:
“Dorodango is the Japanese art of making dirt into shiny ceramic balls for the most part. It has become more popular recently in Japan and America. All it is is a mixture of dirt and water. Through a series of steps, you take a ball of mud and evaporate all of the water out of it. The final product is a sphere of dirt which is as hard as a rock. It is a very, very cheap art project and works as a great decoration.”
See the life connection?
5 Comments
I actually saw them make these on The Mythbusters once! They used “dung” to make theirs to challenge the myth that you can’t polish a “you know what”, but I was surprised at the finished product. I’d never heard of this before and I read about it after the episode. It’s very cool!
Hey thanks! Yeah, and I can see the metaphor for my life there sometimes as well :) It is such a great law of nature how dirt can become something of beauty. I think Dodorango exemplifies that law. Thanks for the comment Jessica.
I saw the same mythbusters – how funny? I think that there is an obvious symbolism between taking a ball of “crap” and turning it into a piece of art – it is like finding the silver lining, or taking a bad situation and learning from it. But if you look further, I think there is more to it. The patience and work that goes into taking something that is raw, uncut and and imperfect, and turning it into something that is shiny and beautiful is an exercise that few people experience anymore but everyone should. It is in this type of behavior that people learn to value existence and life. The little moments are taken lees for granted and every piece of crap is appreciated for it’s full potential.
I can see you look at this article the same way I do. The fact of the matter is that everything we do we think is great will one day fade. The trick of being a creative person is using all the pieces to make something of value … again and again. Thanks for your great comments today.
The Mythbusters episode on “Dung shining” has just aired here in the UK. I was soooo impressed with the dirt balls “Dorodango” that I’ve just started making one tonight. Wish me luck.