Ikebana and us

December 19, 2016 The meeting began with Sensei Malathi requesting a minute’s silence in honour of our late Chief Minister Selvi Jayalalithaa and noted that she had been a strong person and capable leader. It has been a  difficult month for Chennai, what with the CM's demise being followed by the devastation of Chennai's green cover by cyclone Vardah which caused so many of the city's old and loved trees to be uprooted. So it was with relief to look to our Ikebana to change the mood and welcome the festive season. Some members arrived late due to heavy traffic and were welcomed by an array of colourful arrangements. They lost no time in getting down to business and completing their work. “Tis the season to be jolly”…yes, Christmas is round the corner and what better way to end the year! The theme of the last workshop of 2016 was Christmas as a celebration or as an art, using the festive colours of red, white and green. 14 members were present and there was a t...

The celebratory arrangement done by Malathi sensei on Dec 1st, on the occasion of the Emperor's birthday.  Chrysanthemums, so dear to the Japanese, are combined with Ixora, in a traditional Indian urali.  She was assisted by sensei Prerana.

November 17th 2016 Sensei Janaki reports:  The November 2016 demo and workshop in the ABK premises was well attended, with 12 members present. The theme of the day was miniature arrangements.  Sensei Malathi  mentioned that miniature style was a favourite of Kasumi Teshigahara. It is a very personal style, from the heart and ideal for personal spaces like dressing tables, desks and so on. Sensei Prerana  gave a demo on Miniatures and shared her experience of attending a class with Mr. Christopher Lim in Singapore earlier this year. She said that was her first exposure to miniatures, and enabled her to gain a proper understanding of this.  The key points are that the container should be small enough to fit into one’s palm, and the materials used should not be overpowering. It should be possible to make the same arrangement on a larger scale. Sensei Prerana did ten arrangements with a variety of vases and flowers, each one a beauty to behold a...

Sensei Janaki has begun a Ikebana workshop for children, and here is her account of it.  The workshop started on October and will go on until December. "A casual mention that I am an Ikebana teacher got the attention of my dear friend Mrs. Bhavani Kumar who runs Patasala Montessori School in Chennai.  She had been looking for someone to conduct floral based activities for children and thought introducing children to Ikebana would fit the bill. The "kit" This program is part of a series of life skill workshops that encourage the work of the hand. As Maria  Montessori said: "The hand is the tool for intelligence". These workshops usually involve learning skills that are useful in daily life. The school invites passionate resource people to come in and share their expertise. In the end the children absorb more of the passion and inspiration than the techniques themselves. A couple of months of planning and preparation and the workshop took off on Oct...