Thank you to everyone who braved the rain yesterday (Oct 2, 2016) to join us for an ikebana demonstration at the Captain William Spry Library.
We had a great time! Thank you Ella L. for organizing everything!
Afterglow 2016: The Beauty of Imperfection
Afterglow Art Festival was held on Sept 24th, 2016 in Bridgewater, NS. We were again fortunate for the opportunity to participate, this time in collaboration with talented textile artists Susan Lilley (shibori dyeing) and Phyllis Price (sashiko stitching). The ikebana team is Miyako Ballesteros and Susan Robertson.
The four of them have joined forces in an exploration of Japanese culture through its application to contemporary textile art and flower arranging.
Suan Lilley (shibori dyeing)
Phyllis Price (sashiko stitching)
Susan Robertson (ikebana)
Miyako Ballesteros (ikebana)
Pulling ideas together and seeing them all come to fruition were a lot of fun!
The exhibit sought to expose viewers to two deeply held Japanese values: mottainai (disdain for waste) and wabi-sabi (appreciation for old and imperfect items). In North American throw-away, these lesson have important application for achieving sustainability in the 21st century.
“Truth be told, I just love dyeing cloth, cutting it up and sewing it back together again to create exciting, original artwork.
I’ve been doing this for near on 10 years, sometimes inspired by a place or a feeling, but more often inspired by the marks and the light I’ve created on white, (often old) fabric, using various techniques, including the ancient Japanese art of shibori.
I’m drawn to shibori for so many reasons. My brain is challenged by an exploration of cause and effect, as I repeatedly stitch, fold, clamp, and dye each piece of fabric to achieve a desired result. And yet the results are always unpredictable. Mysterious. Imperfect. Inspiring. Forcing me to release control of the outcome, leading me along new pathways, challenging me to create simple, abstract artwork that evokes an emotional response for me, and I hope, in the viewer. ”
“In some thirty-odd years of textile work, I’ve always been drawn to the random combination of seemingly disparate and often reclaimed fabrics, embellished through the Zen process of hand stitching. The use of recycled fabrics appealed to the frugality I inherited from my ancestors, as well as my environmentalism. The Depression-era mantra of “use it up, wear it out, make it over or do without” guides not only my textile work but my general approach to life.
This past year, through connection with friends more knowledgeable than I about Japan, I’ve discovered how these concepts have been important touchstones in that country’s culture as well. The reverence for much-loved, much-used and often imperfect everyday items, the collage-like approach to layering old fabrics joined together through the meditative process of sashiko stitching, and the Japanese interpretation of frugality (mottanai) have both deepened and broadened my textile work. I expect that these “lessons from Japan” will continue to influence both my stitching and my life in days ahead.”
“It seemed like time stood still the first time I saw an ikebana arrangement. That unexpected response drew me to this art of arranging plant material. Initially I was a passionate admirer. Over a period of years I took a few classes, played around with it a little and enjoyed other people’s work. In 2009 I became a serious student.
Ikebana has taught me a new way of seeing detail, simplicity, imperfection, balance and space. I love the way each composition reveals and highlights the unnoticed or hidden beauty of not only the plant material but water, a container, or the empty space that surrounds it. I can delight in the most minute detail, an intriguing line, or a color that’s been made apparent or more prominent through trimming, placement, and use of the space.
In the process of creating some new arrangement I am totally absorbed and literally lost never knowing where it will end up. When I am finally satisfied that it’s complete I enjoy a quiet state of overwhelming ecstasy.”
“Ikebana is an art form that constantly reminds us of our connection to nature. Using plant materials taken from the backyard (even the weeds!) and maybe a few flower stems, we are able to create an arrangement. In the spring/summer, we have fresh and vibrant foliage, full of green; in the fall, a change of colour; in the winter, simply bare branches, revealing their beautiful lines. The eternal changing of seasons never seem to bore us. No two seasons are ever identical. So it is with ikebana. There is always something the same yet there is always something different. After more than 20 years of practice, every arrangement is still refreshingly new.
In Nova Scotia, I am surrounded by nature. Trees and shrubs growing in their native habitat show me the beauty of their natural forms and lines. Even worm-eaten leaves reminds me that life is happening everywhere. All this is an inspiration to me.”
Hanging Arrangement by Susan Robertson.
We are especially grateful to the people at Keller Williams Select Realty, Bridgewater office--Monica, Carol & Henry--for your help and generosity in letting us use your offices! Also a big thank-you to Ashton Rodenhiser and the rest of the Afterglow organizing committee for having us and making this magical night happen!
P.S. Thank you Phyllis for letting us use some of your photos!
Japanesque 2016
Did you make it to Japanesque this year? We were blessed with another charming day (Sep 18th, Sunday) at St. Mary's University, The Oaks. It was a great afternoon to learn and experience Japanese culture.
Chanoyu (tea ceremony) and bugaku court dance.
Iaido and kendo.
Of course, our very own ikebana! :-)
Wadaiko, Japanese drums. Everyone learned to dance bon-odori! It was a great crowd!
People also tried calligraphy and Japanese paper crafts...and also enjoyed some matcha tea!
We are already looking forward to next year's Japanesque!
My Ikebana: Intertwining Palm Leaves
I have this beautiful Shunkei lacquer vase with a long and elegant handle. I decided to intertwine palm leaves around it to show a climbing arrangement, almost like a vine!
To the left of the arrangement, I added steel grass as an extension and overflow of the motion created by the entwined palm.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Proverb: Too Much Or Too Little?
We came across this Japanese proverb...
「過ぎたるは猶及ばざるが如し」
すぎたるはなおおよばざるがごとし
Sugitara wa nao oyobazaru ga gotoshi
"Too much is just the same as too little."
Very applicable to ikebana...as well as most anything else in life! Balance is key.
"Sō" Magazine August 2016
The ikebana display that Miyako & Susan Robertson created for Afterglow Art Festival 2015 was featured in the August, 2016 edition "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
Read more about the event here.
My Ikebana: Disassembling Stems
It is summer and it is green! I took some wild greens growing on the roadside. These stems are interesting. If you look closely enough, you will notice some leaves are flat but others are slightly curled.
I decided to take them apart and re-assemble them to show a climbing motion. The leaves were plucked carefully because I also wanted to show the calyxes.
The bare stems continue the upward movement of the leaves below.
In the midst of the leaves, I placed on lily bud...like something to be found in a treasure-hunt! The dark pink alstroemeria blooms serves to emphasize the contrast between the cream container and the green leaves.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
My Ikebana: Using Multiple Containers
I have many blue containers and so I thought it would interesting to use a few of them like building blocks. I placed a half-moon container on its side to show a strong face.
To further emphasize this strong surface, I placed flowers behind it. The chrysanthemum on the lower right is made to look as if it is peeking out from behind!
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
A Visit To A Tea Farm In Uji, Kyoto
The city of Uji, Kyoto is known to be the birth place of Japanese tea. This small clump of trees is an area called “Oh-Fuku-Dani 大福谷” where the first tea leaves were successfully planted way back in 1271. Tea farmers have since moved tea-planting to other areas so now it has cedar trees.
This is the birth place of Nagatani So-en (1680-1778), the man who revolutionized (back in 1738!) Japanese green tea processing into how it is now.
Tea culture runs deep here, as evidenced even by the mailbox, which is shaped like a tea urn!
The city is surrounded by lush, green hills and the Uji River runs through it, making it a perfect setting to grow tea.
This is a field for sencha, tea, grown in full daylight.
Here is how gyokuro and tencha (the leaves used to make matcha) are grown, shaded for about a month before harvest.
Most tea leaves are already machine-picked. However, the highest grade teas are still hand-picked. After picking, the tea leaves are rolled/kneaded, steamed and then dried. They end up in boxes like this.
Here is the lady who vacuum packs our tea for us! Thank you for your hard work! :-)
Tea-tasting and a refresher course in the proper way of preparing matcha!
I also tried a hand in making matcha! The stone mill is cranked counter-clockwise, one revolution per 3 seconds. Too fast and the tea is not milled properly, resulting in a bitter tea; too slow and the powder gets stuck in the grooves of the mill. It takes about 30 minutes to grind enough matcha for one bowl. Modern farms still use the same stone mill with machines doing the turning.
The taste of freshly ground matcha is in a league of its own!
We hope you continue to enjoy Japanese green tea!
My Ikebana: Mountain Ash And Sunflower
A friend gave me mountain ash branches from a fallen tree. They were from the top of the tree, something not usually easily to get at! The container is a vase that my mother made. It is a solid and hefty piece that goes perfectly well with the strong branches.
Sunflowers herald the coming of summer! Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako