1/27/2026 - Week 3 / Meeting 5: Art / Vision & Mission Statements / Wabi-Sabi Aesthetics

 


I 

 

Unit: Art

Theme: Vision & Mission Statements / Wabi-Sabi Aesthetics

 

Introduction

Statements of a school’s vision and mission are important for keeping a school focused on its core purpose. The statements can act as a guiding north star for school administrators who aim to make decisions that live up to the statements. They are also important because they are documents that parents use to see whether the school meets their family’s values.

 

 

II

Learning Objectives

 

  • Understand the meaning of a school's vision statement
  • Explain the importance of a school's mission statement
  • Gain awareness of the role they play in a teacher's decision making 
  • Experience the Wadb-Sabi aesthetics and its application withing the context of a school's vision and mission


III

Main Lesson


1

Concepts


Mission Statement
It is a formal summary of the aims and values of a school, company, organization, or individual.

Vision Statement 
A vision statement is a declaration of an organization's objectives, intended to guide its internal decision-making. 

 Question 1

What is the difference between a mission and a vision statement ?

 

2

 
Examples of Mission and Vision Statements as they appear in the websites of three schools.


a)
New World School of the Arts 

https://nwsa.mdc.edu/about/


Mission

New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a Florida Center of Excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects the rich, multicultural State of Florida. The school empowers students to become state, national, and international leaders in the arts by challenging them with innovative ideas as they prepare for professional careers in a global community. These principles guide intensive and rigorous education for talented high school and college arts students

Vision

We are committed to providing educational and artistic excellence for our students.

 

 b)

Miami Arts Charter School

https://www.miamiartscharter.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=153154&type=d&pREC_ID=299441

 

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c)

Design and Architecture Senior High School

https://dashschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=509337&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=981020&hideMenu=0


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d)

 MDCPS - Division of Academics: Mision & Vision

 

Vision: To empower every M-DCPS student to thrive in a dynamic world-equipped with the knowledge, creativity, and resilience to forge their path to success in college, career, and life.

Mission: We deliver and support rigorous, innovative learning experiences that cultivate critical thinking and real-world skills. Through personalized instruction and purposeful pathways, we ensure every student is prepared to excel.

 

Question 2

Which one of the above mission and vision statements best match your teaching philosophy statement? 

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 3

 Wabi-Sabi Aesthetics

  • In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world-view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete."
  • Wabi-Sabi refers to the kind of beauty found in asymmetrical, uneven or unbalanced things. The asymmetry of a ceramic bowl is an example of wabi. Sabi is the beauty of aged things and speaks to the impermanence of life through the passage of time. An example of sabi is the lovely patina found on a rusted old metal wall.
  • Wabi-sabi is a concept that motions us to constantly search for the beauty in imperfection and accept the more natural cycle of life. It reminds us that all things including us and life itself, are impermanent, incomplete, and imperfect. Perfection, then, is impossible and impermanence is the only way. 
  • With roots in Chinese Zen Buddhism, the story of wabi-sabi can be traced back to a 16th-century Japanese legend about Sen no Rikyu and his tea master, Takeeno Joo. The tale tells how, upon his master's request, Rikyu cleaned and raked the garden to perfection. 
  •  Zen Buddhists use a round symbol called enso (円相) to express their version of wabi-sabi. This perfect circle of black ink painted with a thick brush is made of infinite motion: always moving, never standing still. Sometimes, a painting will feature a gap in the circle. 
Question 3
 
How is Wabi Sabi a useful aesthetic reference when building creativity in the classroom?
 
 
4


5 principles for living the Wabi-Sabi way
  1. Get rid. De-clutter your living space and it will help to de-clutter your mind.
  2. Head outside. Give yourself time to sit and think in the outdoors, amongst nature.
  3. Live seasonally. Observe the seasons as they come and as they pass.
  4. Embrace the imperfect. ...
  5. Enjoy your emotions. 

 Question 4

How do these principles may satisfy an a school without a budget for the arts?

 

5

 

History of Wabi-Sabi


 Question 5

 How did Wabi Sabi originate?

 

6

Wabi Sabi Interiors 


Question 6

What is your feeling about Japanese interior design based on Wabi Sabi aesthetics? 

 

IV

A Note to Remember

Using simplicity as one of the key principles for organizing the environment brings many benefits to children's well-being and development.

 

Question 7

How do you envision the Wabi Sabi classroom? 

 

 

V

 Case Study

 

Nobuyuki Kobayashi 

 

Born in 1970 and from Yokoze-town, Saitama prefecture. After independent of 1993, I have been shooting mainly portrait and fashion photography for advertisement and magazines. But from 2001, I learned the basics of fine arts and alternative print technique in New York. Hosokawa-paper (Japanese traditional paper) is utilized for the support of the print. I have combined the Hosokawa-paper with platinum palladium print, which has succeeded in creating a graceful and unique atmosphere within my work.



 

VI

Discussion Questions 8, 9 & 10 

  • How can Wabi-Sabi principles advance your commitment to make the arts part of the general curriculum?
  • How does the concept of Wabi-Sabi apply to installation art work?
  • How can Wabi-Sabi principles advance your commitment to make the arts part of the general curriculum? 

 

 

VII

 

Activities
 
1
Gather in groups and come up with your group's mission and vision statements in accordance to your ideal school.
 

2
Individual Work: Bring nature indoors with flowers, foliage, twigs, bark, grasses, feathers, pebbles, shells, rocks, crystals, pine cones, conkers, nuts and seeds. Use the nature items to reflect the seasons and create interesting provocations through an installation art piece.
 

 VIII

Journaling

 

IX

Glossary

 

X

Sources

 

Statements in School.  https://helpfulprofessor.com/school-vision-and-mission-statements/

LINK:  https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/wabi-sabi-keeping-it-simple

Simplicity by Design.  https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2021/Simplicity-by-Design

 

XI

Student's Work 

 

Wabi Sabi Aesthetics 

 Examples from last semester

 1

Wabi Cycle 

Anna Katherine Sutton, Sam Henry and Diarra Danville

Our installation represents the cycle of life. The two top flowers represents life at birth, then you go down to the middle leaf where is represents maturity and it covers childhood, teenagehood, adulthood and lastly the last leaf represents the ending of your life cycle, which signifies elderlyhood. To summarize our Wabi cycle Illustrates the vicissitudes and imperfections of life by displaying beauty and its own different way. 

 

2

A Journey Through Life
 

Alec Fetzer, Lucas Curti, Maxwell

This is meant to reflect the process of life. The rocks serve as a foundation - family, values, ethics, and morals. The stick is the timeline. And the frayed branches are the experiences and people met along the way. Each leaf is meant to show a point in your life. Your younger self and your mature self.
 
 

3

Organic Collision 

 

 

Cami Beaulieu, Kyle Hendricks, Colleen Murtagh, Isabel Zozaya

The bottle cap that says "simply green" with the dead leaf and the alive leaf- and a rock. It represents how nature and man made interact and create a piece of art. 

 

4

Untitled 

 


Olly Ansin, Trey Maddox, Marcus Allen
 
 

 5

"The Decaying"  

 


Dylan Eisner, Paige Wiesman, Jill 

 

This piece is a visual representation of dying or dead near the bottom of the image and alive but slowly being touched by the brown towards the top of the leaves.

 

 

6

Community Leaf

 

 Gianna Diorio, Kerrigan Wesley, Vittoria Papas, Isabella Cukrow, Emily Mand

We wanted to make a community because you can find comfort and support from the people around you in your neighborhood. Thats what we wanted to show, we did this by putting all the leaves in a cluster in the back of the bigger leaf to represent everyone coming together as a community.


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