Playful Potato Sprouts

When coming back from my summer vacation I was surprised to find that the almond potatoes left in the refrigerator had grown beautiful purple sprouts while I was away - an opportunity that can't be missed! The sprouts gives the potatoes an interesting energy, and turn them into a perfect material for a contemporary ikebana arrangement.

Old almond potatoes with sprouts.

Ishu-ike free style mass arrangement with vegetables.

Ceramic vase by Sonja Gajic, at Veldreid keramikk.

Arranging fruit and vegetables in a morimono arrangement is an old Japanese tradition. In contemporary ikebana this traditional style has developed into a sculptural freestyle arrangement focusing on the shape, texture and color of the materials. Both in the traditional morimono and the contemporary freestyle, the fruits and vegetables can be combined with flowers to accentuate the character of the main materials.

The Sogetsu school teaches as an important principal not to use more flowers than what is needed to make a strong composition. Many flowers have a pretty look, that can confuse the presentation of a more sculptural material.

I made two variations of the arrangement, starting with an ishu-ike (using one material only) with the potatoes grouped into a mass on one side of the vase, and the sprouts stretching towards the other side, adding movement and creating interesting lines in the composition. 

Old almond potatoes with sprouts, Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum).

Although I like the idea of letting the potatoes manage on their own, focusing on the contrast between the two different qualities of the potatoes and the sprouts, I wanted to try to add a flower that could enhance the color of the sprouts. Normally I would go for just one or two single headed flowers, like purple Dahlias or  even orchids, that could work as an accent to the other materials. This time I wanted to try something a bit more naturalistic. My favorite balcony herb, an Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) plant with purple brushlike flowers, made a not too showy addition.

 

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Hanakubari Versus Sogetsu Ikebana

Dooryard dock (Rumex longifolius), Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) and Geranium (Pelargonium). 

Porcelain vase by Brigitte Schneider, Atelier Tokibana.

Any material can be used in contemporary ikebana. In this blog post I have used plant materials found by the roadside. Presenting everyday materials in unexpected ways, showing their inherent beauty, is central to the philosophy of ikebana. It gives you a refreshing experience of seeing the well known as though you see it for the first time.

The back side of a leave often has a rich texture. Looking closer at the Dooryard dock I also found that the  leaf edges has a beautiful curly finishing. This tiresome weed looks great when arranged to show it's best qualities. Showing the water surface in the arrangement has a cooling effect on hot summer days, and the green colour adds extra freshness.

Dooryard dock (Rumex longifolius), Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) and Geranium (Pelargonium). 

Porcelain vase by Brigitte Schneider, Atelier Tokibana.

The technique I have used in this arrangement is similar to hanakubari techniques, using plant materials as visible fixture as well as main materials in the arrangement. "Hanakubari" consists of two Japanese words meaning a flower holder. It's a popular category of contemporary Japanese flower arrangement, promoted by the Mami flower design school. In traditional ikebana the kubari is a twig used as fixture for the plant materials. The kubari fixture is not visible but keeps branches and flowers in their positions in the vase. In hanakubari flower arranging the fixture is an integrated and visible part of the design. The hanakubari kan be a twig, a leaf, or even a stone.

In Sogetsu ikebana the visible supporting materials would be considered a structure, that is not a fixture but rather a main feature of the arrangement. Although I'm not an expert in hanakubari technique I've made a hanakubari version of the same arrangement to explain the difference. In the hanakubari version the leaves are used as a fixture for the flowers (the materials). In the Sogetsu ikebana version the leaves are the main feature, kept in place by the knotweed stem. The red flowers works as an accent in a contrasting colour, hiding in-between the soft texture of the leaves. The flowers are used to accentuate the characteristics of the leaves.

Do you prefer the Sogetsu ikebana version or the hanakubari version? 

Hanakubari, Dooryard dock (Rumex longifolius), Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), Garden Parsnip (Pastinaca Sativa ssp. hortensis) and Creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides).

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Fragrant Colour Study

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and double tulip. 

Glass vase by Kjell Engman for Kosta Boda

Early summer brings an abundance of flowering plants to enjoy. The joy and enthusiasm results in more luscious ikebana arrangements than in other seasons. One of my favorite early summer flower is the Lilac. With it's characteristic fragrance it is a classic garden tree. The Lilac grows wild in parts of Europe. As a garden tree it survives the winter even in the mountain areas of Sweden where I grew up.

In the Lilac arrangements in this blog post I have worked with colour compositions, combining different shades of pale purple Lilac with deeper purple in the glass containers. In the first arrangement I have also added a very flamboyant double tulip, bringing more nuances of red into the composition. Using a broader section of the colour wheel gives a more complex arrangement. The red also contrasts well with the green Lilac leaves since red and green are complentary colours (on opposite sides of the colour wheel). The use of complementary colours enhances the red even more and gives the arrangement a vibrant energy.

In this second arrangement I have used some left over branches for a more simplified and calming arrangement, using a more reduced section of the colour wheel and leaving out the contrast of complimentary colours.  This arrangement instead makes use of water surface to deepen the sense of colour and add freshness.

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) 

Swedish glass bowl

The season for Lilac is short when the warm weather is exploding. It's already over for this time. Flowering trees truly is a joy of the moment, helping us stop up and enjoy life.

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Mother and Child

Bridal Wreath Spirea (Spiraea arguta)
Vintage ikebana vase

The vase or container is always an important and integrated part of an ikebana arrangement. Almost anything can be used as a container, but some vases are especially designed for ikebana use. In the 1950s and 1960s the modern ikebana schools started designing freestyle containers with striking shapes. Today these containers are appreciated again as they go very well with midcentury modern designs.

Sofu Teshigahara, founder of the Sogetsu school of ikebana was inspired by the new contemporary art movement in Europe after WWII. This biomorph vase designed by Sofu was named "Komochi" (子持) meaning Mother with Child. A soft egg shaped form is repeated in a smaller offshoot with identical shape, forming an organic vessel with two openings. The glaze is a pale grayish blue. I've also seen this vase with a black glaze, and also with two twin offshoots from the larger egg shape making it a vase with three openings.

"Kosodate Kannon", Kanon and child.
Image credit The Walters Art Museum.

Mother and child is an iconic motive with strong connotations to religious art. Kannon, the Japanese bodhisattva of love and compassion, is sometimes depicted with a baby boy either in her arms or beside her. She also appeares as a goddess delivering babies to women praying for a child. The Madonna with child is very prevalent in Christian iconography, divided into many traditional subtypes. A medieval sculpture in a church from my home region in Sweden made a strong impact on me as a child. The sculpture depicts St. Anna with her daughter Virgin Mary on her lap, holding the child Jesus. The mother and child motive has relevance to us all on a personal level. We are never done with the love and tension between generations.

"Anna själv tredje", Mattmar church, Sweden.
Image credit: Lennart Karlsson/Historiska Museet. 

In my ikebana arrangement mother and child are covered in a cloud of white Spirea flowers, reflecting the floating moment when the foliage starts to beak in spring. I made this ikebana for Mothers day but haven't had time to post it until now.

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Peaceful Joy - Hanami series 2

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus), bamboo vase
Naturalistic freestyle

Traditional ikebana often combines one "tree material" and one "grass material". Tree materials are mostly branches, while grass materials are flowers and other plants growing from the ground. Combining the two kinds of plant material brings out their character since they are contrasting each other. As an exception to this rule blossoming branches are often arranged on their own as a single material arrangement, ishu-ike in Japanese.

This sour cherry has small white single flowers reflecting the light. Seeing blossoming trees always fills me with peaceful joy. The flowers are delicate and full of energy at the same time. Naked branches with gentle slanting movements.

To stay with the character of these branches I decided to arrange them in a naturalistic freestyle based on the basic slanting style. This is a style that invites us to experience that heaven is not only over us, but also all around us.

When you feel a peaceful joy, that's when you are near truth.

Rumi

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The Energy of Spring - Hanami series 1

European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Flowering cherry (Prunus ’Accolade’)
Bamboo shaped porcelain vase
Freestyle Nageire Sakura theme

Each season has its own energy. When buds on trees and flowers open a vigorous force is released. It is a time for inspired action. This is beautifully expressed in a quote by the Irish poet John O'Donohue: When one flower blooms, spring awakens everywhere. In contemporary ikebana the energy of spring is often expressed by the use of curved lines.

In this ikebana arrangement in a tall nageire vase, spring winds are allowed free expression in a composition of beech branches with buds. These curved lines are combined with a branch of Accolade flowering cherry, representing the calm epicenter of circular winds. What I wanted to catch in this design is the overwhelming experience of being in the here and now of a unique moment, expressed in the Japanese saying "Ichigo-Ichie" - an encounter that happens only once in a lifetime.

What a strange thing!

to be alive

beneath cherry blossoms.

Kobayashi Issa

There are many kinds of cherry trees. The one used in this ikebana is Accolade cherry, a dreamy hybrid cherry with semi-double pink flowers that open from darker buds. It's one of the first cherries in bloom in the springtime.

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Demo in Oslo Botanical Garden

Demonstrating naturally curved lines of Flowering onions, Allium.

Oslo botanical garden is one of the most beautiful parks of Oslo. I know the park quite well from guiding groups as a volunteer a few times every summer. The huge collection og plants collected from different parts of the world makes it an interesting place for a stroll. Changing with the seasons it is different every time I visit.

Some weeks ago I gave an ikebana demonstration in the park as part of the annual plant market day. The old maner house, which is probably the oldest still standing timber building of Oslo, gave the event a dignified historic setting.

Handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata), paper fortune tellers, bamboo stick
Freestyle Nageire with ornamental flowers

One of the attractions of the garden this time of the year is the ornamental Handkerchief or Dove tree. This interesting tree with large white "flowers" hanging like handkerchiefs in the wind, was discovered in China by plant hunters in the late 1800s and brought to European parks as a fashionable novelty. I asked permission to cut a small branch at the back of the tree and decided to try it out in an abstract style nageire freestyle with paper fortune tellers as a complementing material. I've never seen Handkerchief tree in an ikebana arrangement, so it might be a first!

The theme of the demonstration was blooming tree branches and the joy of lavish spring flowers. In addition to fruit trees like Crab apple and Japanese quince, I also used other flowers with springtime connotations. Wisteria flowers always reminds me of the hair ornaments of the Maiko dancing the Miyako Odori spring dance, that I once saw in Kyoto. Wisteria is not very commonly grown in Norway, but they are to be seen in the Botanical garden. Peonies are often used to signalize spring in ikebana. They are also symbolizing spring season in Chinese and Japanese poetry and paintings. Peonies can be difficult to arrange since the flowers are usually big and heavy. Luckily I found a style of European peony with unusually small flowers that where a good size for a traditional slanting moribana arrangement.

European peony (Paeonia officinalis)

Wisteria sinensis

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Curved Lines, Dried Materials

Nageire, curved lines, dried and fresh materials.
Midelino sticks, jute fibre textile, Carnations.

I'm following up my last blog post, about arrangements to be viewed from all angels, with a somewhat similar design using dried materials instead of fresh branches.

This is a smaller sized arrangement with a more abstract Sogetsu ikebana look. My teacher suggested trying out working with Midelino sticks and pieces of fibre textile in a design with curved lines, and this was the result.

Midelino sticks is a flower design product made from rattan. It is without glaze and is very flexible, so it can be bent into many different shapes. If you cut the end pointed and use a sharp object to make a small hole somewhere on the stick you can fix the end of the stick quite firmly in this hole.

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Four Faces

Linden tree, Hyacinth and Statice.
To be viewed from all angles.

Every flower has a face. One of the surprising things I discovered when starting doing ikebana is how much differens it makes if you make the mistake of placing a flower so that it is looking down instead of letting it face the sun. It you hold a flower diagonally in your hand and turn the stem with your fingers you will see what I mean. It may look symmetrical and even, but it is not - it has a face.

Traditionally, ikebana arrangements that are placed in the tokonoma alcove, are designed to face the viewer sitting in front of it. Contemporary ikebana can often be seen from all angles and can be placed in the middle of a room.

Making an arrangement so that it can be seen from all angles is an important exercise in Sogetsu ikebana. When walking around the arrangment the shape will change more than you expect. The asymmetric design makes it look very different depending on the angle you're watching from. But there should always be some material facing you no matter where you stand. That's why these arrangements are sometimes named arrangements with four faces.

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Veggie Revolt

Freestyle with vegetables.
Rhubarb, dudhi gourd, turnip, potatoes.

Freestyle arrangements with fruit and vegetables is a popular style of Sogetsu ikebana. The idea is to make use of the shape, colour and texture of the fruit, when composing a modern, sculptural arrangement. It can be an arrangement with fruits only, or a combination of fruits, leaves and flowers.

This freestyle arrangement is a further development of the more traditional morimono style, which in the Sogetsu school is a basic style arrangement on a tray, with fruits or vegetables, roots and flowers, representing the shin, soe and hikae elements.

While fruit offerings have a long history, both in traditional Japanese culture and in Buddhism, the first morimono style ikebana appeared in the mid 18th century, as part of the litterati or bunjin movement. Japanese literati style was inspired by the Chinese, but since Japan was cut of from the outside world in this time, the influences were sparse and the Japanese bunjin came to develop a style of their own.

 Yanagisawa Kien, Images of January, May and September.

Hanging scrolls, 1750s.

The bunjin movement was a revolt against orthodoxy, with its increasing focus on techniques and details. Idealizing the sensibilities of Chinese scholars and painters, the intellectuals preferred a more informal, personal expression. The intellectual, or literati, should ideally be a master of all the core traditional arts - painting, calligraphy, and poetry. Mastering flower arrangement was also in their portfolio. Seeing themselves as renewers of Japanese culture, they developed a category of new freestyle arrangements that are known as bunjin-ike or bujinbana.

Being an informal style, bunjinbana is similar to nageire and to some extent to chabana, but it has a stronger focus on the beauty of the plant materials and a freer approach to form and combination of flowers and vase. While chabana breathes the austerity of the tea house, the bunjinbana expresses the taste of bunjin, the man of literature. It is characterized by personal expression, unorthodoxy, a casual character, and a new richness of color and literary nuance adopted from the Chinese art. Today the Ohara school is the strongest exponent of bunjin style ikebana.

The morimono style of the bunjin consisted of vegetables, flowers, fruits, sometimes roots, especially from Lotus plants, or rocks, placed on a plate, a basket, or even specially made dishes formed as banana leaves. The bunjinga painter Yanagisawa Kien (1703-1758) is especially well known for his paintings of arrangements with fruits, that has served as models for morimono.

Yanagisawa Kien, Orchid and Pears.
Hanging scroll, painted silk, H. 57.6 cm, W. 37.9 cm.

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Masses - Naturalistic and Abstract

Mass, moribana, abstract freestyle.
Roses, Carnations, Pine.

Grouping materials together to form masses is one of the most commonly used design elements in contemporary ikebana. Masses can work as a contrast to lines and to open spaces. They also add weight to an arrangement, and works as a focus point that makes the over all impression peaceful.

When masses are used in abstract arrangements, it is crucial to arrange the materials in a distinct form. In Sogetsu ikebana masses are kept in geometrical forms, like circles, ovals or squares. This gives a contemporary look, and if you are successful a rather dramatic effect.

Mass and line, nageire, naturalistic freestyle.
Apple branch, Roses, Carnations.

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Sakura Poetry

Sweet cherry, Statice, Pine.
Variation no. 1, upright nageire.

click-clack

go the wooden clogs...

cherry blossoms!

.からからと下駄をならして桜哉
kara-kara to geta wo narashite sakura kana

Haiku by Issa 1811

(Translation by David G. Lanoue, haikuguy.com)

Sweet cherry, Hyacinth, Plastic, Pine.
Freestyle Kabuwake with unconventional materials.

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The Last Sweet Cherry

Sweet cherry and Carnations.
Variation no. 4, slanting moribana.

There are many kinds of cherry trees. The Japanese count well over 300 different kinds of Sakura including wild ones and cultivars.

The cherry blossoms are said to remind us about the realities of human life. It can be beautiful in the moment, but it lasts for a short time only. That's why Sakura blossoming is associated with both beauty and melancholy. The tradition of gathering for parties under the cherry trees, in it's deepest  sense is about enjoying life while it lasts.

The sweet cherry grows wild in some parts of Scandinavia. It is also a sturdy garden tree. It blossoms a bit later than its more fancy and delicate sisters. Sweet cherry plays the leading part in these two ikebana arrangements. The first is evoking the abundance of blossoms on a tree at its peek, the second one alludes the melancholy of Sakura. This last arrangement is an exercise in disassembling the material as rearranging it so as to highlight the beauty of every part of the branches.

Sweet cherry.
Ishu-ike, Disassembling and rearranging materials.

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Crossing the Water

Forsythia, Cymbidium orchid and stones.
Focus on water, 'bridge arrangement'.

Water is essential for life and is also a very important element in ikebana. Water is life giving, refreshing and cooling, but also calming and creates a peaceful atmosphere.

There are many ways of emphasizing water in ikebana. The most important thing is to never add to much plant materials, and the use the flowers to point to the transparent character of the water. Transparency is a very important quality in Japanese aesthetics.

Arrangements that form a bridge over the water are ment to evoke a poetic notion of crossing into a different world.

To go with this bridge arrangement, I found two photos from a trip to the historic Japanese garden at The Huntington, Pasadena, a year ago. Enjoy!

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Two Groups in Two Ways

Goat Willow (Salix caprea), Eustoma, Spirea.
Kabuwake freestyle.

Did you ever notice that branches of Goat Willow can have a quite strong colour? I was so surprised by the shiny yellow and red branches coming up from the base of an old tree, that had been taken down. The shape of these young branches varies from straight to slightly bent and elegantly curved.

I used these branches together with some other spring materials to illustrate the difference between the basic style Variation no. 5 and Free style kabuwake. The word kabuwake, meaning 'separated groups', is used for Variation no. 5 as well. In both styles the materials are divided into to distinct groups. These kind of arrangements build on the traditions from very old Rikka arrangements, that were splitt in the middle with two shin (main) lines, or just two groups allowing water two flow in between them as a fish path.

Variation no. 5 moribana kabuwake is a basic style with fixed rules for the lengths and placements of the branches. The two groups represents an arrangement that have been taken apart and divided into two parts, that are incomplete without each other. The open water surface between the two groups is the most important feature of this arrangement. The kabuwake freestyle is a freestyle arrangement that has been developed from Variation no. 5. The expression is freer and the arrangement more vertical. The open space on the water surface continues up between the branches, and creates a powerful open space full of energy.

Goat Willow (Salix caprea), Eustoma, Spirea.
Variation no. 5, moribana.

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Girl Power

Forsythia and Calla lily 'Flamingo'.
Without kenzan.

The typical flowers for Girl's day, or Hinamatsuri on March 3rd., are pink Peach blossoms and yellow Rape flowers (Brassica napus). Pretty and humble, they are symbolizing youthful beauty and fertility. This festival is also called Momo no sekku, the Peach festival. In less traditional arrangements any pink and yellow flowers are acceptable.

In this contemporary ikebana arrangement without kenzan, I wanted to move away from the expectation of being pretty and humble and rather focus on girl power. At the flower market I found a bunch of  unusual pink flamingo Calla lilies with powerful vertical lines - perfect for what I was aiming at.

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Curved Lines in Basic Styles

Alder branches, Tulips, pine.
Variation no. 2, slanting moribana.

It's fun to play with curved lines in freestyle arrangements, but the energetic curves of springtime can also be expressed in basic styles, meaning styles with rules for how to place the branches in relation to each other and the vase.

In these two examples I've used the same branches and flowers as in one of the freestyle arrangements in my last blog post. Alder branches have naturally strong curves and also a nice variation in the texture of the material.

Alder branches, Tulips, pine.
Variation no. 8, combination arrangement.

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Lines of Springtime

Curved lines.
Linden branches, Muscari grass, Hellebore.

In the Spring season it is still so much easier to see the  lines of tree branches, than when the leaves have sprung and the tree crowns turns into a mass of green. Emphasizing straight and curved lines is important in Sogetsu school freestyle arrangements. Curved lines in the Spring are showing the increasing energy in nature, starting with a discreet bend and erupting with full power as it is getting warmer. When straight and curved lines are combined they are arranged so that they accentuate each other.

Straight and curved lines.
Alder branches, Salix branches, Tulips, paper bag.

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The 49th Spring

Birch, Hydrangea, bamboo vases.

first spring morning
my 49th year
of blossoms

Haiku by Issa, 1811

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Happy Easter

Linden branches, Daffodil, Hellebore, Thuja.
Variation no.3 (fan style) slanting moribana.

Easter gives hope for tomorrow, as after the winter comes spring.

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