Welcome to the Sunday All Day Brunch. Help yourself to the goodies and just kick back and relax. Do you have anything special planned for today? Sunday is the day that my PBS station does cooking shows so I’m going to settle back and cuddle the kitties and get some more recipe ideas. I thought today we could explore a bit the Chinese art of feng shui.
I’m no expert on feng shui although I do like reading about it. It originated about 4,000 years ago in China. It has its roots in the Taoist philosophy. I have read the Tao Te Ching and while I don’t claim to understand it fully I do find it very beautiful. I grasp the concept of yin and yang and the symbol that shows in every yin there is a seed of yang and in every yang there is a seed of yin. The word feng means wind and shui means water. The purpose of feng shui is to balance chi or energy in a way that leads to harmony and good health and fortune. The five elements of feng shui are wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
I’m sure my place probably would be considered much too cluttered to be classic feng shui. I have a tendency to surround myself with things that bring back memories or are fun. I imagine some things would probably be kosher to a feng shui practitioner. I have a water element in all rooms except the computer room. I love fountains and have one in the bedroom and the living room. I also love candles and they are all over the house. I have wood in all the rooms as well as stones and earth. Most of the rooms show my love of chrome and wood combinations.
Back in 2003 my niece asked me for some pictures based on feng shui. It would take six years before I had the models that I could use to do her request justice. Christmas of 2009 she finally got her pictures. These were her instructions and these were the resulting pictures.
“I was hoping I could commission some artwork from you (something I think others might want to buy as well). I’ve been doing some research into Feng Shui, and hoped you could do some art for the four primary directions. The following is the description of the best elements to include (and avoid) for each of the directions.”
West: Seven white tigers, in the marsh, round shapes, aqua blue as a secondary color, and metal. Area represents children and creativity. Avoid anything red or representations of fire.
North: One black turtle, lots of blue and navy, in the water, free form shapes. Area represents career. Avoid anything representing earth, yellow, flat or square.
East: Three cerulean green dragons, thunder in the background, lots of wood, rectangle shapes. Area represents Family. Avoid anything white, round, or metal.
South: Nine Phoenix, reds/purples/burgundies, fire and sun, triangle shapes. Area represents Fame and Reputation. Avoid black, water, and free-form shapes.