This four-week workshop on the ancient Japanese art of flower arrangement is a gift for the soul
It’s a tradition that dates back seven centuries in Japan, the mindful, artful practice of giving life back to cut stems, branches, twigs, leaves, and flowers by arranging them in vases or other worthy vessels. The practice has evolved for over 700 years into the art of ikebana, from the Japanese words ike, meaning “alive,” and bana, meaning flowers. Roughly translated, the word ikebana delivers a more precise meaning—the art of bringing flowers back to life. Minimalism or simplicity are the underlying principles in this art, where graceful shapes and lines as well as balance are pursued in contemplative silence.
Roughly translated, the word ikebana delivers a more precise meaning—the art of bringing flowers back to life.
The many forms and styles of ikebana give off a sense of serenity, even a meditative vibe, in contemporary spaces for living, playing or entertaining, and working. It’s the art of bringing the beauty of nature indoors.
Basic to this Japanese art of flower arrangement are such styles as moribana (“heaped up”) and nageire (“tossed in”), which can both be done either upright or slanting or, in the case of nageire, even cascading.
In these uncertain times, ikebana provides relief from the stresses of the day-to-day, as well as momentary yet healthy escape from the hurly burly of living.
Want to learn these basics and more, including variation # 4 with movement, which in ikebana speak refers to the way the elements such as shape or color are organized to create a path for the eyes toward the focal point of the arrangement?
Sign up at Sunshine Place, where Marc Tomas, former president of Ikebana International Manila Chapter 108 and a member of Sogetsu Potential Manila chapter, is slated to conduct a face-to-face workshop every Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, beginning Sept. 17.
The introduction to ikebana workshop is a four-Saturday workshop, replete with starter kits each participant, inclusive of flowers for the four sessions and kenzan, otherwise known as sword mountain or spiky frog, an indispensable device used to hold cut flowers in place in a floral arrangement, and a vertical and horizontal base. Students are encouraged to bring their own gardening scissors for the class.
Tomas has been teaching ikebana classes at Sunshine Place since 2017. The face-to-face workshop will accommodate only a limited number of participants. Sunshine Place is at 56 Jupiter, Makati City. Call (0917) 515-5656 or email [email protected].