Ikebana and us

8th August 2020  The Chennai Sogetsu Study Group is continuing with its monthly meetings, moving them online, to deal with the restrictions and safety requirements of the COVID pandemic.  Chennai continues to be under lockdown. Our August workshop included a demosntration by sensei Molly from her home, while we all watched, connected via Google Meet.  There were thirteen participants in the subsequent workshop, whle fifteen attended the demonstration.  In her usual methodical and understated style, sensei Molly was efficiently well prepared with materials and camera set up, and began her demonstration with a round moribana vase. The theme for this month was contrasting the shape of the container in the arrangement.  So, for her first piece, sensei Molly contrasted the circular container, with geometric shapes created with the umbrella plant.  Even the Periwinkle flowes and Wax rose fruits echoed the octagonal shapes she created with the lines!  The Hel...

Venkatesh posted some pictures from the Japan week earlier, here. Here are some more... The Japanese version of our " dhrishti pushnikai "? Another guardian Rimpa The Ohara School in Chennai also participated and had a lovely corner. Above, is a Rimpa style arrangement, related to the Rimpa style of painting in Japan, from what I coud gather, from the write-up next to the arrangement. The decorative qualities of the materials used are captured. Water reflecting style The literature read, "  In this style the subject is placed to slant over the container and cast its reflection on the surface of the water.  it is called the Water reflecting style because the Subject, the Secondary and the Object are arranged so a wide surface of water is visible " Bunjin My photo cut off the literature, but searching on the 'net, I discovered that this style is based on the Chinese art of painting, and looks to highlight the poetic and elegant nature of one's material. Real...

Over the years, in our annual exhibitions, I have experimented with urban waste, as a source of art and expression. Initially, I worked with various discarded auto parts - I had an old car that frequently threw up these various parts at me!  Car parts - an early attempt   I recall using these old silencers with the exhaust pipes forming the main lines! My father gave me some tips as to how to make them stand, and where I could fill water, for the fresh material!  My mother of course was the sounding board and provided me the encouragement  to try this idea.  It was also the first time that I worked with limoneum, the everlasting flower, which was used to soften the harsh, metallic lines of the pipes. I imagined the creation to show how even in our urban jungles, there are spots of life (the red carnations!), to brighten our life, and all we need to do is to look out for them. 2006-car radiators! Originally uploaded by ambikach2002 The next year, and I had some discarded radiators to ...

Photo courtesy Raja Ramakrishnan The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Something outlandish about the scent wafting from expo A very strange headline, dont you think? What did they have in mind?! Anyway, here's the article: CHENNAI: It was a riot of colour at the hall, which played host to a variety of flowers from the simple Bougainville flower to the exotic Ooty varieties, dry wood and bamboo. The students experimented with containers in which the flower/foliage arrangements were made: ceramic vases, glass dishes, an antique spice box and a colourfully painted circular lunch-box. A three-day Ikebana exhibition, organised by the Tamil Nadu centre of the ABK-AOTS Dosokai at Lalit Kala Akademi here, provides a glimpse of the Japanese art form of arranging flowers. It was inaugurated on Friday by Lan Minagawa, wife of the Consul-General of Japan Kazuo Minagawa, and presents the work of a team of Sogetsu Study Circle. Sogetsu Ikebana is a school that allows room for experiment wit...

Following the coaxing and cajoling from all others, I have been goaded to post these photos, from our last worskhop. The reluctance on my part was becuase of the horrible quality of the photos, which do no justice to the arrangements. I warned you! Venkatesh, I think? I have forgotten completely who did which, so if any of you remember, please do post a comment! Vaishali Who?  Prerana?   Meenu? Molly, I think Prerana Vaishali Seetha

It was my first experience with a Japanese tea ceremony here in Madras, and quite an event it was! Organised at the Japanese Consulate, it may have been sniffed at by the purists, but for us non-Japanese, it was a whiff of their culture, zen thought and philosophy. So much care, silence, the trickle of water, the appreciation of the tea cup, the deliberate cleaning of the serving cup and other implements.... All for a cup of tea you may ask?  Its not the end that matters but the process I guess! Take a look at all the implements that were involved. We were told that the whisk (that you see in the foreground) is ceremonially consigned to the temple fire, once a year in a special ceremony. Then there's a cloth to wipe the ladle, another to wipe out the guests' cup...all in all very complicated! One must make the time to relax, meditate, and calm the mind before having the energising tea! Above is the container holding the cool water.  This is poured deliberately into the boiler,...

Sorry for this late post, but then better late than never isn't it?!  Here are the pictures from the no-kenzan workshop we had at Trishala's place, a couple of weeks ago. The pictures were taken from a phone-cam, so they do not do any justice to all the lovely arrangements, But anyway something is better than nothing! The early birds were all done and ready when we late-comers arrived, and so we did not witness their "struggle" to balance the material and achieve beauty without the convenience of a kenzan!  So, Trishala, Prerana, Seetha and Chitra sat smugly while the rest of us toiled at achieving this balance, combining the laws of gravity with aesthetics! Trishala  Trishala's arrangement went vertical, while Prerana took the horizontal route, both achieving grace in their lines, with the flowers adding a lovely focus. Prerana Seetha and Chitra decided to keep it low, and created these nice table arrangements. Seethalakshmi Chitra Molly took the branch lines tal...