Flowers for Formal Tea
Chabana, or tea flowers, is an integrated element of the Japanese tea ceremony. Chabana is a spontaneous type of flower arrangement, naturalistic and extremely simplistic. It's not even called an...
View ArticleSemiformal - In the moment
When choosing materials for chabana use flowers that "speak to you" in the moment. Put everything aside and be prepared to meet beauty in unexpected places. Then use the opportunity to create something...
View ArticleInformal - Old Roof Tile
Chabana, Snowberry, Wax flower and leaf. Old roof tile.Imperfection is more beautiful than flawlessness. I guess this informal chabana is quite unusual. There is no proper vase, just some simple...
View ArticleAfter the Typhoon - Hong Kong Sogetsu Exhibition
I regularly browse YouTube for interesting ikebana related videos. Recently I came across this video documentation of the latest exhibition with the Hong Kong Branch of Sogetsu Teachers' Association....
View ArticleFresh Snow for Christmas
Mass arrangement. Gypsophila, red roses, red tinsel, Taxus.It's a bit early for Christmas ikebana, but I know that many people have started their Christmas preparations and are looking for ideas. Why...
View ArticleGolden Lining
Dried bamboo, roses, fabric with gold threads, pine, Christmas balls.Christmas is getting nearer. As every year my teacher prepared a Christmas themed workshop in her studio to round of the year. This...
View ArticleMerry Christmas
Moribana, Variation no. 2, slanting,Taxus, Roses Gypsophila, tinsel.With this peaceful and traditional ikebana I'd like to wish all of my ikebana friends around the worlda Joyful Christmas and a Happy...
View ArticleSpencer Byles - A Year in a French Forest
Somewhere in the forests close to Mougins in South of France a collection of land art sculptures are hidden like secret treasures in a remote landscape. The 20 or so site-specific temporary...
View ArticleNew Year Ikebana by Megumi
Megumi Schacher is a Sogetsu ikebana teacher based in Seattle, US. I came across this video where she demonstrates a beautiful New Year arrangement with Pine and Mizuhiki, a special paper cord often...
View ArticleArt Photo - Trees and Lines
A naked tree trunk can be an inspiring starting point for a work of art. These land art works, the first by Flemish photographer Michiel Hendryckx and the two last by Welsh photographer Zander Olsen,...
View ArticleMetal and Stones
"Zen Writing", metal strips, stones, dried Aspidistra leaf.One of the specialities of the Sogetsu school is ikebana without flowers. When Sofu Teshigahara, first headmaster and founder of the school,...
View ArticleIkebana House - Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale
Every three years the worlds largest outdoor art festival, The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale is held in the Echigo-Tsumari region, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. In an attempt to bring fresh attention to...
View ArticleHiroki Ohara at Echigo-Tsumari
In addition to the exhibition in the Ikebana House there have also been other ikebana related works exhibited at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennal. Hiroki Ohara headmaster of the Ohara School of ikebana...
View ArticleBeehive Cubism
Beehive boxes, dried Hydrangea, Mitsumata, Pine.It's time to post another avant-garde style ikebana arrangement. My Sogetsu ikebana teacher challenged me to us some old wooden boxes from beehives that...
View ArticleYayoi Kusama at Echigo-Tsumari
Yayoi Kusama, Tsumari in bloom (2203)."Tsumari is a noble land. It is a land enriched by tolerance that embraces all forms of art. As I watched my huge open-air flower sculpture being installed I felt...
View ArticleRyusaku Matsuda - Bamboo Works
Today I would like to draw your attention to a contemporary ikebana artist that have also made Land Art related works. Ryusaku Matsuda (b.1948) is one of the more well known Japanese flower artists,...
View ArticleEnduring Winter
Naturalistic Freestyle, vertical arrangement."Bamboo" Knotweed, Pine, White trumpet lily, Ilex berries, LisianthusSurviving winter can be a tough challenge if you are a delicate flower - no matter if...
View ArticleSatoru Kato - Installation Works
A gigantic red ribbon lingers between Bamboo trunks in a London park. It's an ikebana installation by contemporary ikebana artist Satoru Kato for the Crossover uk 2001 festival. The horizontal red line...
View ArticleA Bud of Promise
Moribana. Slanting variation 1. Magnolia and Lisianthus.Kenzan covered with broken glass for an icy effect.A bud bears a promise of spring and new life. That's why buds are so important in ikebana,...
View ArticleOlav Christopher Jenssen - Abstract Painting and Ikebana
I ran into an ikebana related painting when I stopped at one of Oslo's leading art galleries the other day. Norwegian painter Olav Christopher Jenssen's exhibition at Galleri Riis in Olso consists of...
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