Japanese Friendship Garden annual ikebana exhibition 1/29-2/1

Up coming ceramic exhibition in Tucson

Ikebana Lecture and Demo at Phoenix Bonsai Society Meeting, 1/6/2015

I was invited to give a lecture and demo of ikebana by Phoenix Bonsai Society to their members at their monthly meeting last night. I needed to draw comparison between two traditional art forms. I didn't have a script to follow. At the end, it turned out to be a great success. Half hour passed without a pause. Here are a few outlines I touched upon: There is one fundamental, transcendent practice both ikebana and bonsai share. That is to bring nature into our living space. Yet, ikebana and bonsai seemingly stand on the opposite side of the practice. One is transitional, the other is "eternal". Ikebana and bonsai also share a few design principles. Upright, slanting, hanging, kabu-wake (two or more groups), line, mass and color. I presented three arrangements to accompany the topic. Basic upright moribana, basic slanting moribana, and one free style arrangement using dry branches.

Outdoor arrangement workshop

Outdoor arrangement workshop: material collection, sketching, power tool using, working process and assessment are discussed in this workshop. The following are two demos I did.