The objective of this arrangement was to show unbalance: a small vase versus a large arrangement of materials.
What do you think? Was it successful? ☺ Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
"Sō" Magazine August, 2020
Our exhibition—Connecting—last June, 2019 at the Lunenburg Library, was featured in the August, 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
Zoom Demo At SMU
Every year, we are honoured to be invited to present ikebana to the Japanese Culture course offered at St. Mary’s University.
Normally, the demonstration would have been live in the classroom. Afterwards, the students would have been able to see the ikebana arrangements up close and enjoy the subtle details.
But of course, this year is different. University lectures are being conducted online and so must our demonstration! We are posting the demo arrangements below so that the students may have a second look at them.
We’d like to thank Dr. Alexandre Avdulov of the Department of Modern Languages and Classics and all the students in the Japanese Culture course for your warm welcome and keen interest!
Believe it or not, this was our first “Zoom event” ever.
Arrangement No. 1 - Basic Upright Moribana
Arrangement No. 2 - Drawing Attention to the Container
Arrangement No. 3 - Seasonal Arrangement: Autumn
We hope you enjoyed the demonstration!
Transitioning To Paper Bags
From Sept 1st, 2020, the shop is officially using paper bags for your small (as in “not bulky”) purchases.
No Extra Charge For A Paper Bag
Reality is that paper bags are significantly more expensive than plastic bags. But we’ll provide paper bags, if necessary, at no charge…for now. We will see how this goes. If less people ask for bags, then we will still be able to provide the paper bags for free for those moments when you do need one.
Let’s Reduce!
We ask our customers to bring their own reusable bags whenever possible. We will not offer to bag your purchases unless you specifically ask us for a bag.
What About Bulky Purchases?
No worries. We will still have large plastic bags for items that will not fit in regular reusable bags. Yes, we know we have big plushies in the shop!
Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.
"Sō" Magazine June 2020
Our ikebana demonstration for the closing ceremonies of the Asian Heritage Month las May 2019 at the Halifax Public Library Central Branch is featured in the June 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
"Sō" Magazine April 2020
It sure took its time but we finally received our copy of the April 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
Our exhibition, Surprise! (yes, the award-winning one!) last May, 2019 at the Keshen Goodman Library, is featured in this edition.
Ikebana Lessons Restart
Finally! We are happy to announce that ikebana lessons will restart in September. Hopefully we can pick up where we left off!
Please check the lesson dates here.
Please note that we have given students who were booked for the cancelled March lessons priority so some lesson times may be fully booked already.
Original photo credit: Kent Martin.
We ask everyone to wear a face mask during the lesson.
We ask everyone to bring their own clippers, if possible.
Hand sanitizer will be available at the studio.
If you feel sick or have any COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home, call 811 and take care.
If you have travelled outside of the Atlantic bubble within the past 14 days before the lesson date, please complete your self-isolation first.
Thank you for our understanding.
Hope to see you soon!
Our Exhibition Won An Award!
We are happy to announce that our ikebana exhibition, Surprise!, held last May 10-12, 2019 at the Keshen Goodman Library has been selected by Sogetsu Headquarters to be one of the recipients of the Sogetsu Sakuhin Award (草月作品賞)* for 2019.
We thank all our students who participated in this exhibit. It was due to all your hard work that we are able to receive this recognition from Sogetsu School. Everyone, take a bow! We are very proud of you!
The award ceremony was supposed to be held last March, 2020…but it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So we just received the Award in the mail.
A very rough translation:
The Sogetsu Sakuhin Award is presented to Surprise! Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibition.
Your work imbued with novel ideas and a bold spirit of challenge adds a new page to Sogetsu's diverse creative activities. We commend your achievements with the Sogetsu Sakuhin Award and look forward to your future activities.
Dated March 27, 2020. Signed by Akane Teshigahara, Headmaster of the Sogetsu School
* NB:
We could not find an appropriate way to translate this award so we left the word “sakuhin” (作品) as it is. “Sakuhin” means “a work of art or literature.” The direct translation would have been the “Sogetsu Work Award”…but that didn’t really feel right in English. One possible way to convey the meaning of the award is to translate it as something like the “Sogetsu Excellent Work Award” or maybe the “Sogetsu Award for Excellent Work”…although the word for “excellent” was never in it.
The list of award recipients for 2019 as published in So Magazine, June 2020 edition. (Sorry, in Japanese only.)
The exhibition poster.
My Ikebana: Packaging Cushion As Container
We’ve been through a heat wave recently here in Halifax. We finally capitulated and bought an electric fan. What caught my eye was the packaging cushion. It was made of moulded pulp, with a rough and interesting texture. It was of course formed in the specific shape to protect the appliance. But I thought to transform it and use it as a flower container!
So, I folded it in some parts, tore up other parts, and put them together again….and then painted it black. I also made room inside for a container to hold water.
Next, I cut off the light twigs from a dried spruce branch, which I had sparsely painted white. The little twigs were rearranged into a small cluster. By placing it to seem like it was floating above the dense-looking container, I sought to show contrast between heavy and light.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Please Wear A Mask
On July 24, 2020, the province of Nova Scotia announced that wearing face masks becomes mandatory when entering most indoor public spaces starting from July 31, 2020. This regulation includes retail establishments like ours. (Read the NS government’s announcement here for complete details including exemptions.)
We ask for your cooperation when visiting our shop. Let us help keep each other safe and healthy. Thank you very much for your understanding.