Last Week: Ikebana + Crafts = TRUE

Back home from the opening of the last week of the exhibition ikebana + crafts = TRUE i feel grateful and content. It has been great working with Kunsthåndverkerne i Kongensgate and an inspiration to meat people at the opening demonstrations these three weeks. The focus of the third week is glass works by Ina Kristine Hove. She has also an exhibition running at Buskerud Kunstsenter where you can see more of her works.


Since glass has a totally different character than ceramics the feeling of the ikebana arrangements of this week have a more airy and fleeting feeling to them. The first arrangement is a traditional basic upright style demonstrating the philosophy of ikebana with three main branches. In this arrangement I also showed a bit of nageire (arrangement in a tall vase) techniques as a way of fixing the branches. The Japanese umbrella pine was chosen as a material that complements the red plastic mesh of the vase.


A glass vase with a yellow spiraling line made the starting point for the second arrangement, which is a more modern freestyle. The movements are below the surface in this arrangement focusing on the water as a life giving element and on the transparency of the glass. The curved lines and bright colours reveals a hidden life moving around under the surface, sometimes reflecting what is going on   in the world above.


Simplified arrangements fascinate and attract peoples eyes. Maybe it's the escape from the many complex situations of life that gives a feeling of being able to breath freely. In the last arrangement I've worked with the contrast between one transparent and one opaque vase with clipped curves.  Apple branches are attached to the brim of the vases and works as hanakubari, flower holders. The Freesia and the Cala lily are reflecting the different characters of the vases.

Photo: Svein G Josefsen