Greetings to LotusHaus

Christmas is definitely over for this time, even here up north. I want to thank Joanna at LotusHaus for posting my Christmas Ikebanas on her blog. That was a nice surprise. Thanks also for the kind words coming all the way from Seattle.

Joanna is a great blogger with lots of things going on. Check it out on LotusHaus!

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Balancing Heaven and Earth

Since I can't control the contents of the video bar from YouTube in the left column, I'm posting my favorite video here as well.

It's an Ikebana demonstration at the Shambhala Meditation Center in Boulder, Colorado. 48 minutes long, so sit back, relax and enjoy as Alexandra Shenpen explains how they work with ikebana as a way of meditation.

I especially like the focus on balancing heaven and earth, or the visionary and the down to earth principle in life. It's fascinating to see how Shenpen is working with this in her ikebana arrangement. Another interesting thing is the way she's talking about mans place in between heaven and earth from an ecological perspective.

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The Colors of a Winter Morning

Hyacinth, Ilex and Ranunculus.

Those minutes when the day break and the sun is coming out of the dark winter colors everything else seems to stand still. We've had some really spectacular daybreaks this winter. I was trying to capture the colors of one of them in this arrangement.

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Christmas Greetings

A joyful Christmas to you all. I'm posting a few Christmas ikebana arrangements for inspiration.

Anthurium and red painted bamboo.

Poinsettia, Gypsophila, metal wire and silk paper.

Pine, Norwegian Spruce and red roses.

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Matching Colors

Red to Yellow; Ilex with red berries, Gerbera and Ranunculus.

Yellow to Red - Gerbera and Ranunculus with a branch of Siberian Dogwood.

Orange; Ilex, Gerbera and Ranunculus.

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Simplifying Things

A branch from the garden, an orange Gerbera, and a Bergenia leaf.

Use only as much as you need - nothing more. That's the secret of ikebana. It could also be a way of living if you wish. Not as easy as it sounds. These are really simplified arrangements with not a leaf that isn't necessary. At least that is what I have aimed for.

Gerbera and Berberis in a simplistic vase.

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Winter Visions

The first snow fell down on Oslo a couple of weeks ago. It's all gone now, but it still means winter time in the ikebana studio. I'm posting a couple of pictures of arrangements in a style with long traditions in ikebana history. All the focus is on the single Shin branch or line that stretches visionary towards the sky. The last arrangement, which has has a double Shin line, is a variety of the same type of arrangement.

Ornithoglaum and some green stuff in a boat container

Snowberries (Symphoricarpos) and some more of the green stuff

Ornithogalum with a dry leaf and green plant material.

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Tea Flowers

Here is my Chabana arrangement from the ikebana class at the Japanese tea house. Two kinds of grass, a Bergenia leaf and some humble autumn flowers.

There should always be two lines in a chabana arrangement, one for the tea master and one for the guest. In this case the high grass and the Bergenia leaf represents those lines.

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Tea for Three

My Ikebana teacher invited us students to experience a tea ceremony. So we went on an excursion to the only proper Japanese tea house in Norway. It's a small tea house with room for three guests only. The pictures aren't that good. I'm posting some anyway to give you an impression.

A Chabana (tea flowers) class was part of the program.

It went dark while we were at the tea house, so you can barely see the tea master. It's his hand taking tea with a ladle from the tea kettle. Click the pictures to see the whole photo set at Flickr.com.

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Kiku and Kawana in the Big Apple

If you're in New York before November 16th you must visit the 2008 Kiku (Japanese Chrysanthemum) Flower Show at The New York Botanical Garden.

This years exhibition features a new bamboo installation by Tetsunori Kawana, installation artist and master teacher of Sogetsu ikebana. His work is closely related to the bamboo installations of the late Hiroshi Teshigahara, third iemoto of the Sogetsu school. For the installation at the Botanical Garden Kawana uses 300 pieces of 8 meter long madake bamboo. More than 30 volunteers helped assembling bamboo for the monumental installation. Kawana says he imagined a bamboo forest in the autumn mist while working on the sketshes. If you visit you can walk under the mist and experience the installation.

Tetsunori Kawana is also giving ikebana classes in The New York Botanical Garden in Januar. That would have been something! I'm arriving in New York the day after the last day of his class. What have I done to deserve this?

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