An arrangement by Setsuko
Our Ikebana workshop will be held on Sunday August 10, from 2pm to 4pm in the Khandallah Presbyterian Church hall. Setsuko will lead the workshop. It will be an opportunity to practice your arrangement for our September Exhibition at the Begonia House. Setsuko has provided the following notes on her theme:
"Through your flower arrangements, your sensibility blooms, and your love for flowers blossoms into confidence.” “How can we achieve that? Please read through the following quotes as your reference.
Sofu Teshigahara wrote about ‘Good Ikebana’ in one of his Lesson notes (Ikebana Sogetsu No. 256 June 2001).
“Good ikebana has movement within it. Plants don't move, but they should look as if they're moving. In Sogetsu ikebana, a feeling of movement comes from the arrangement. Green colour gives the impression of movement because when we look at a plant, we react instantly to its green mass.
‘Beauty’ is an abstract word that refers primarily to colour but also to shape. Beautiful shape is a product of lines and mass. Remember that lines move but mass doesn't when you decide where to give emphasis to movement and mass. It is important to remember that ikebana is not just about lines and mass. The originality and sophistication of the artist are also important.
Of the utmost importance, however, are the three major ikebana techniques: ’cut’, ‘fix’ and ‘bend’.
Cut until you get blisters. Let your fingers bond with the scissors
Bend branches and other vegetation to a form you like
Fix the flowers and branches without using a kenzan (needle point).
Practice these three techniques until you come to be known as an expert.”
Setsuko emphasising line
Akane Teshigahara wrote that “Flowers embody the essence of the heart” (Sogetsu quarterly Summer 2025 No. 365). "How are we to express that formless and invisible essence of the heart?”
I think about this constantly and try to put it into practice through a process of trial and error. Above all, I try to be true to myself and to the flowers. I believe it is essential to open our hearts and minds to the changing shifts and currents of society. “My ikebana” must give rise to emotions that extend far beyond accumulated knowledge and established practice through such an attitude. The past Iemotos (headmasters) have conveyed this thought in their various words and expressions, and I believe they themselves practiced throughout years."
I encourage you all to practice the above techniques at the monthly workshops and prepare yourselves for the Wellington Botanical Garden Exhibition.
Kind regards,
Setsuko