IKEBANA INCORPORATING TEXT

On Monday last, the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School held one of its regular workshops. On this occasion the workshop on the theme: Ikebana Incorporating Text, was lead by me. 

I had set this topic for my own students last year and, at the time, was very impressed by the variety of their interpretation of the idea. I was also struck that each of the arrangements reflected the personality of the students.

When thinking about the theme I decided to create examples where the text in some way related to the ikebana; though this does not have to be the case and the text may simply be incidental, decorative or contrasting with the ikebana. 

For the workshop I created three examples on the theme.

The first example uses the most obvious strategy of using text already written on paper. The text is from an advertisement for the Melbourne International Film Festival and asks ‘What is the role of the artist in a creative city?’.

The second example, is an arrangement 'emphasising water' and is self-referencing. It has the letters I.K.E.B.A.N.A, formed from the green stems of Umbrella grass cypress alternifolius, which sit among the red geometric structure above the surface of the water.

The third example has the text 'Consider......' written on a leaf using a 'gel pen'. I intended this to be an invitation to the viewer to pause and reflect on the arrangement. However, it is also a reference to the quotation from the New Testament. Being the first word of the well known line,  'Consider the lilies of the field...'. This verse, among other things, implies that the perfection of nature cannot be surpassed by man-made creation. An idea consistent with the perspective of ikebana.

Examples of the ikebana by the attendees at the workshop are posted on the Sogetsu Victoria website.

Greetings from Christopher
27th August 2017