Observation is another way to expose to new experiences. The picture is going to stick in our memories and it is easy to recall them as needed to create new stories in realtiy.
Khun Mut or Supatsetha Wilarat, a Japanese style landscaping designer, fell madly in love with nature since he was very young. He always seek opportunities to get close to nature such as hiking and camping which gives him an in-depth understanding of natural structure like cliff and waterfall as he sees these natural made architecture for countless times. He keeps the major element of natural beauty and, upon close scrutiny, a story telling technique in his signature style. He was advised by a Japanese painter to apply this technique to story tell the beauty of the Eastern to the world through rocks, trees and water.
“My journey in landscape designing simply starts from love and a close relationship with nature. A close Japanese friend of mine, shared his knowledge and a true meaning of Japanese garden style. He was like my professor. He was once a painter that become a garden designer. He gave perspectives as well as his thought process which is to bring out the best of nature as if it was the scenic entry into the ocean and apply toward landscpaing design using pumice rocks and white gravels to imitate the islands in the middle of the ocean and the untamed waves of endless ocean.”
Most of the houses in Japan have a limited space so the pumice rocks are indispensable because they can be set anywhere to align with the shape of the house. This elimiates space limitation problems. Space management and its natural elements are timelessly beautiful characteristics of pumice rocks in Japanese gardening.
A monochromatic color scheme is the color tone for Japanese gardening. It harmonizes the look and feel of the garden as if it was a delicate and beautiful illustration. At the same time, this monochromatic color tone also creates visual composition that is soothing and peaceful which stimulates calmness and meditative mind.
“There is no contrast color in Japanese garden design which is very different from the Bali style. Every element in the design harmonizes the surrounding nature. It is more of an artwork that accompanied by the princicle of both science and arts or the Zen and the nature. It also requires a deep imagination as it is not an easy task to create a plain and simple garden that also provide the shady appearance.”
He does not apply only the shapes and elements of nature in his design but its architecture. For instance, the water circulation concept derives from the waterfall placement. He usually sets waterfall on the North end and let the gravity works its way allowing the water’s movement to flawlessly flows from North to South. Geographically, North is the origin of the waterway. According to Feng Shui concept, water is the symbolic element for the North which is considered the water direction.
Japanese landscaping has its own distinct appearance representing calmness, serenity, and peace without using artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape to express the fragility of existence as well as the meditative mind which help us live in harmony with
