At a recent confab, someone asked why I have “Ikebana Artist” on my card. First, I had to explain what Ikebana is. Fortunately, it is easy to contrast this style of floral design with the traditional, European type bouquets of numerous blooms on the meeting room tables. I explained that in Ikebana “less is more” and that we use negative space to contribute to the overall experience of the viewer. Not every cubic inch of the arrangement needs a flower. Sometimes, however, we use all flowers. Using only flowers is the theme of this blog post, a Fuzion of Flowers.
You will notice in the images in the slide show below that one or more triangles dominate each arrangement. Sometimes, there are several to many. As you scroll through the series of eight images, linger long enough to find the triangle, a hallmark of all Ikebana. Note also that the triangle may have a bloom or group of blossoms at its vertices or not. In three cases, the most obvious triangle is the negative space. (You say, “This is a blog about Ikebana, not geometry.” Correct. However, this link should take you back to the definitions, postulates and axioms of your youth. http://www.mathopenref.com/vertex.html.)
It’s mid-May, early spring flowers abound and birds are chirping through the open window. In fact, there is a profusion of roses in my garden. Will there be an inspired moment in which I use some of these for a few arrangements. The next post will tell.
Inside the orchid case are several blooming orchids, and a few outside the case. This is the time of spring awakening with day length increasing and warm daytime temperatures. One hesitates to cut an inflorescence from an orchid because getting them to bloom can be quite a challenge. When I do use orchids in Ikebana, I usually purchase them from the floral section of a grocery store, less traumatic for my orchid plants and for me. The blooming orchids are such a temptation.
You will notice in the images in the slide show below that one or more triangles dominate each arrangement. Sometimes, there are several to many. As you scroll through the series of eight images, linger long enough to find the triangle, a hallmark of all Ikebana. Note also that the triangle may have a bloom or group of blossoms at its vertices or not. In three cases, the most obvious triangle is the negative space. (You say, “This is a blog about Ikebana, not geometry.” Correct. However, this link should take you back to the definitions, postulates and axioms of your youth. http://www.mathopenref.com/vertex.html.)
It’s mid-May, early spring flowers abound and birds are chirping through the open window. In fact, there is a profusion of roses in my garden. Will there be an inspired moment in which I use some of these for a few arrangements. The next post will tell.
Inside the orchid case are several blooming orchids, and a few outside the case. This is the time of spring awakening with day length increasing and warm daytime temperatures. One hesitates to cut an inflorescence from an orchid because getting them to bloom can be quite a challenge. When I do use orchids in Ikebana, I usually purchase them from the floral section of a grocery store, less traumatic for my orchid plants and for me. The blooming orchids are such a temptation.
In journalism, there is a -30- at the end of an article, which in Japanese is “sanjuu.” This centerpiece arrangement seems a fitting end to this Flower Fuzion post.
Beginning is easy; continuing is hard. -- Japanese Proverb
Henderson
Henderson
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