My students made basic slanting arrangements this week. It is such an inspiration to see their progress and hear them express what ikebana means to them in terms of getting into the meditative work with branches and flowers.
We have a large table to work on and a long bench where we can exhibit the results. Seeing all the arrangements standing in a row you can see how different the result gets even though everyone is doing the same style of arrangement. Ikebana is very much a personal expression. It's a piece of nature, but also a piece of the person arranging. We're communicating with the materials within the concept and the rules of that style.
The basic slanting style has also been named the windswept. It's a soft and gentle style allowing the wind to blow playfully through the branches. Heaven is not just up above for us to reach for, it's also like a wind surrounding us right where we are.
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| The joy of studying ikebana. |
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2 comments:
Your students have produced very nice arrangements! Beautiful!
Thanks Stephen. It's good to hear from you!
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