Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibition

Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibit at the United States National Arboretum
September 19 & 20, 10:00am-4:00pm


Demonstration: Sunday, September 20, 1:00pm-2:30pmNational Bonsai & Penjing MuseumSpecial Exhibits Wing
Members of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area Sogetsu Branch fill the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s International Pavilion and Special Exhibits Wing with dramatic arrangements in this modern style of Japanese flower arranging. Sogetsu promotes an ikebana of no limits in which designers use plant materials of any type to create sculptural compositions. Watch master teachers demonstrate their techniques as they create a series of basic and free style arrangements during the drop-in session on Sunday, September 20 from 1:00pm to 2:30 pm. Free. No registration required.

The Poll Is Still Open, Your Vote Counts !

The poll in my previous post is still open, so take a look and VOTE! The poll is asking the question: "Is it Ok to actively study another school of ikebana?". This question came to me by chance a few months ago. I know someone who is studying with one school of ikebana and has just started studying another, and wants to keep it somewhat of a secret. Why, you might ask, would this be kept quiet? It seems that this person's sensei might not approve of their study of another school. So I was very curious about why that might be. I know lots of people who have have studied at least two schools, some have even gotten certificates from multiple schools. I started asking around and found that people were either very open to studying another school or very devoted to their current school. Perfectly understandable responses in my opinion.

Then I found MY answer to this question, from the So magazine, Volume 67, November-December 1987 in an article by famed Sogetsu artist and teacher Norman Sparnon:

"It was classical Rikka of the Ikenobo School which next took my attention. On receiving my Sogetsu Diploma I asked Mr. Sofu if I should study this classical style. He said "Yes, it will be good for your technique, and I will introduce you to a good teacher."

Some Workshops, A Demonstration, And A Poll

© Shuji Ikeda

This week I signed up to attend Ikenobo Ikebana workshops and a Sogetsu Ikebana demonstration . The two workshops are sponsored by Ikebana International Washington, DC Chapter #1 on Saturday, October 17, 2009 featuring Mr. Shuji Ikeda, Sokakyo Professor with the Ikenobo School of Ikebana. Details and registration are available on the Washington,DC Chapter #1 link above. After the workshops I will be going to see a demonstration by Ms. Soho Sakai, Riji of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. The workshop is part of the World Association of Flower Arrangers 2009 Excursion Botanicus, a ten-day multi-state Seminar. The cost of Ms. Sakai's demonstration is $50, the event is at the L'EnfantPlaza Hotel in Washington,DC and it is open to the public . More information on tickets is at WAFA's website.

So this brings me to a question I have been pondering, and also asking for opinions on: Is it OK to study more than one school of ikebana? I know that you should not do more than one at the same time, but after you finish the curriculum for one school do you think studying another school is a good idea? I'd really like for your vote in the poll below, and also for some comments and thoughts on your opinion or your experience with studying with more that one school of ikebana.

Is it OK to actively study more than one school of ikebana?
	Yes, it helps to further creativity and knowledge
	No, you should stick with one school in order to do it well
	Not sure
pollcode.com free polls

Glorious Blooms in the Urban Summer Garden

Since my partner and I moved into our current apartment six years ago we've been working hard on our urban backyard garden. It's great for growing flowers to use in ikebana, and in my mind that makes them the best kind. We've dug up lots of the backyard(with permission from our landlords) and created a space we love and cherish. Every year brings new things and a sense of excitement before, during and at the end of the growing seasons. I try to choose plants that I know will make great flowers for ikebana, but always seem to also get things that can be difficult to use. That's part of the challenge of ikebana, the mystery of what the outcome will be. If we knew exactly how it would turn out, some of the fun, challenge and discovery of creating would be lost.

The arrangement that you see here is made entirely with flowers from our garden . I wanted to used all blue flowers, since that has been our featured color this summer in early plantings. However I also used some violet colored flowers, and some chartreuse plant materials and I figured since they were all located together on the color wheel that they would be perfect together. I included lisianthus in both violet and white with a blue rim, blue balloon flowers, blue echinops, green spearmint and scented geranium leaves, blue angelonia and some stems of lavender. You might wonder what this arrangement has to do with ikebana, and there is a good answer. This would be considered a Moribana arrangement which literally means "piled up". If you would like to know more about ikebana , you can visit Ikebana International.

8th North American Sogetsu Seminar-Exhibition

The exhibition for the 8th North American Sogetsu Seminar was a great success. I've posted photos from the installation of the exhibit above. The last two photos are from my group, the Sogetsu Washington,DC Branch. There are more photos already posted on my Flickr site. Click any photo above to go there. I will be adding more photos to Flickr later once I have a chance.

8th North American Sogetsu Seminar

The 8th North American Sogetsu Seminar is now over and I have started posting my photos to my Flickr site. This beautiful large scale arrangment was done by Sogetsu School Iemoto Akane Teshigahara and her staff. I'm sure the hotel would love to have arrangements like this all the time! Whenever I see ikebana on this scale I am really inspired to do some on my own. So maybe this summer I can play with some materals and do at least one. I got a lot of ideas from the three different workshops that I attended. I met so many wonderful and talented people from all over North America and the rest of the world, and it was a great experience to see their ikebana.

Color and Movement

Recently I did several arrangements using some beautiful Balou cymbidium orchid blooms and kohlrabi. The light green color and almost squid-like tendrils on the kohlrabi seemed perfect for ikebana, and I loved working with them. Combined with the butterscotch coloring of the orchids, the kohlrabi was a perfect companion in color and movement. Several different arrangements were made, and lots of combinations tried. I shot these with the late afternoon sunlight for a different feel from the studio lighting shots. My hope is to bring some life into my photography. During the month of January I took a few photography classes with photographer Eliot Cohen in an effort to get to know my camera and to help me understand how to shoot better photos . Which brings me back to the various ikebana artist websites, books, and magazine articles I have been exploring. Seeing how they photograph what they are doing, and how the background setting influences their work . It's all food for thought, and a way to think about what I want to do and how to make it work for me.

The remaining work from last week

Here are more pictures that I did last week. I really love all of them, but the one above is my favorite. The sweet japanese tea bowl was found in an antique store, exposed outdoors to the elements with other pieces that were stacked on shelves. Most of the other pieces were low end ceramics and cheap floral glass/containers relegated to the junk pile. This great piece with a personal stamp in the clay cost me only $4, but to me it is priceless.

A Productive Period!

The month of August has been a productive period for me. I've posted more new works that have recently been photographed, and I will post others. During the Labor Day weekend I hope to do a lot more. It's been a lot of fun, and a much needed release of creative energy.