This week has been exceptionally busy with the visit of Master Instructor of Sogetsu Head Quarters, Kosa Nishiyama to the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School. 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the Victorian Branch, which was established by the late Norman Sparnon.
Mr Sparnon, who was born in Melbourne in 1913, became proficient at speaking and writing Japanese while a young man. After WWII he was seconded to General Macarthur’s occupation forces as an interpreter. He remained in Japan for a total of 12 years, during which time he began to study Ikebana, ultimately becoming a Master of the Sogetsu School and the Ikenobo school. Upon his return to Australia he dedicated is life to teaching ikebana and promoting Australian - Japanese relations through the art of Ikebana. He and his wife Mary travelled tirelessly around Australia and New Zealand, teaching and establishing Branches of the Sogetsu School and Chapters of Ikebana International. He established the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School in 1964. Our members have held classes and exhibitions in multiple venues around the city every year since then.
The following link is to an article in the Australian Dictionary of Biography about Norman Sparnon.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Victorian Branch, Nishiyama sensei gave a public demonstration at The Edge in Federation Square in Melbourne. She also presented two workshops at the Asia Institute, Melbourne University.
The following photograph is of my work at the morning workshop. The first theme was to make a freestyle ikebana using paper, of any kind. The Victorian Branch provided botanical materials and attendees had to provide their own paper.
I used a Japanese ikebana vase from my colleague Aileen's collection and was given a branch of tortuous Willow and some red Callistemon flowers. Using news paper, I created long paper straws by wrapping sheets around a chopstick and removing it before it got trapped inside. This provided me with straight lines that contrasted with the wavy lines of the willow.
Greetings from Christopher
3rd November 2024
