Last summer I was invited to attend the opening of an art show that I helped work on. I also attended a dinner held for the artist.  The  table was occupied by the  ”top dogs” of the art world and I was lucky enough to sit next to the architect who designed the the exhibition space. We got to talking about his recent trip to Japan and,  specifically, the Ikebana class he took there.

Some background info:  The  baskets used in Ikebana are also an ancient Japenese Tradition.  Baskets all have great names with a story behind them.  For example, the above have titles such as;  Tidal Wave, Budding Beauty and Woman.  The signatures engraved in them are an art form in themselves.  I learned this when discussing this post with John and Gregg and they told me about a Gallery they used to have in Santa Barbara. Their very first show was a show entirely focused on the art of Japanese Bamboo Baskets. They were inspired by a show they saw of the collection of Lloyd Cotsen in New York at the Asia Society Museum on Park Avenue.  The book of that collection is amazing: Masterworks Japanese Bamboo Baskets of Form and Texture. Its pricey though!  John and Gregg went to Kyoto to collect the baskets for their show and wrote an earlier post about their trip and the Miho Museum.

Back to my dinner….the architect told me about how just one class changed his whole way of seeing things as an architect.  So,  from that night on I knew that I wanted to learn more about this magical art form. My friend David was also interested in practicing Ikebana so we signed up at our local city college for a Saturday morning class that I will definitely be signing up for again!

1. David constructing his first- ever Ikebana arrangement. There are many rules a student of Ikebana must abide by; one of them is that all flowers must face up towards the sun.

2. David with Sunsay, our instructor and the sweetest woman ever! Sunsay would come around near the end of each session and help us problem solve our arrangements, making sure we left with our best possible composition.

3. My and David’s final products!

The first time we went, we were so bummed out that we needed to take down our flowers to take them home. After a couple of hours of hard work I didn’t think I had it in me to take the arrangement apart but soon I began to  love coming home every afternoon from class to reconstruct my arrangement.

After just five classes, David and I had not only grown aesthetically but we had also grown to love the ritual of Ikebana. Ikebana loosely translates to “giving life to flowers” and you really feel connected to the way you place each one to compose your arrangement.

Overall, Ikebana is more than simply putting flowers in a container, it is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. I strongly encourage everyone to give it a try. Check with your local city college, pick up a book or check out this website for a class near you. We will be waiting for you to send us your pictures of your Ikebana creations!