Saturday 11 May 2013

Amongst Friends


"Amongst Friends", ikebana with flowers from visiting friends.
Sunflower, Protea and assorted desert plants.

It's so nice when a guest brings flowers. These were given to me earlier this week, and I decided to honor my guests by making an ikebana including all the materials that they brought.

The result is a bit wilder than the usually Sogetsu ikebana, but why not? I love the different textures of the plants and the swiping movements.

In the Sogetsu curriculum there is an exercise using five or more materials in your arrangement. This refers to a style called Maze-zashi, often used for autumn arrangements but also in the summertime. The underlaying structure is mass and line and the arrangement should have a light and airy character.

The challenge when using so many different materials is to keep a harmonious balance. Unfortunately two of my sunflowers were broken so I had to place them much lower than I ideally would have done. On the other side, working with what you have and accepting things as they are is the number one rule in  ikebana and in any meditative art form.

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