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Outside The Comfort Zone: Christmas-themed Arrangements

12/23/2016

We ventured out of our comfort zone, Ichiyo, into more traditional arrangements, but with 21st century élan. After all, Ikebana is about the designer, the setting, and the time, Christmas 2016.

These three arrangements illustrate what this “fuzion” is all about. Using features from various schools undeniably nuances the art form.

Traditional, nearly Rikka style Ikebana

Reflections: Ikebana and You

12/10/2016

Another year draws to a close, but our love for Ikebana does not wane. I’m preparing to do a class on holiday arrangements. This lesson changes each year, so I have no idea how it will turn out. There will be a post of the lesson a week before Christmas in time to inspire your holiday designs. It’s my favorite time of year because there are so many opportunities to design arrangements: your coffee table, piano, credenza, dining table, end table, foyer, mantel, and even in the powder room. This may be the only time that numerous arrangements don’t give a cluttered feel to your home. In addition, it gives you the chance to do different types of designs – Moribana, Nageire, miniature, landscape, and even Chiko with a figurine or two. What a finale for the end of the year!

Last month I journeyed to San Antonio to visit Ikebana San Antonio and presented a demonstration talk and workshop. The title was “The Monk, the Samurai, and You”; images that I took during the “dress rehearsal” are within this blog post. I use the term dress rehearsal because before every presentation, I run through the arrangements to see whether what is in my mind will work with the available materials and containers. (You can view other images taken by TJMolina, a professional, on the group’s Facebook post for November 6, 2016: https://www.facebook.com/ikebana.sanantonio.texas/?fref=ts)

In this presentation, I discussed the history of Ikebana beginning with the monks’ floral offerings in the Buddhist temples and the role of ikebana in the life of the Samurai. The demonstration/lecture ended with “You”. Today, Ikebana is about you, and how you interpret the design with whatever materials are available. Going through several centuries of Ikebana, there are only chronological boundaries and dynastic eras, but no real lines of demarcation between one school or another. Hence “fuzion”.

Only the designer’s imagination is a boundary. That designer is You. With You, something old can become new, for the New Year.

Information table with books on the School and arrangements in the Ichiyo style.

Tranquility in Green

Outside The Comfort Zone: Christmas-themed Arrangements

Reflections: Ikebana and You

Author: Mable Orndorff

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