An Unexpected Meeting

"I see trees differently after I started studying ikebana" - the words were my class mate's when we sat on the bus on the way to our ikebana teacher and watched the bare branches of the trees passing by outside the window. Our ikebana practice is full of unexpected meetings with all kinds of plant materials.

Studying with the Sogetsu school, we are also encouraged to see manmade materials with new eyes, integrating them in the ikebana creations. It makes me think about the differences between natural and manmade materials. I've come to the conclusion that everything we do, is reorganizing materials that surrounds us. We are ourselves part of nature, and all the things we make are basically, in one way or another made from nature. Therefore there isn't much difference between arranging living plant materials and plastic or metal.

When we arrived at our teachers studio, I was met by a big box filled with all kinds of odd objects and materials. I had brought a bunch of interesting Calla lilies named 'Green Goddess', perfect for a sculptural contemporary arrangement. My exercise that day was to approach the stuff in the box as if viewed for the first time. These three ikebana arrangements is what I came up with. Let the unexpected meeting inspire your creativity!