I heart Ikebana!

Finally, my first ikebana class! I'd been anticipating my first lesson for nearly a month, and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. I am learning the Saga Goryu Ikebana style which originated at the Daikaku-ji temple in Kyoto. After about three hours of lessons, my teacher was kind enough to lend me some of her materials so that I could practice at home, so I spent the rest of my night practicing the various styles I learned in my room. While ikebana requires strong concentration, I find it to be quite relaxing and rewarding.
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Here's what I've done so far:

First arrangement:
Heika: Shaseitai Aidome

Matierals:
Camellia
Lillies
Statice

This is a standard arrangement. Regardless, I spent a lot of time working on and still feel like I'm missing something. I will be attempting this one again tomorrow >.<   Although few materials were used for this one, I think its simplicity It what makes it beautiful. Less is more!








Second arrangement:
Moribana: Useitai

Materials:
Camellia
Chrysanthemum 

Although a little more complicated, this arrangement was probably the most fun to arrange. Moribana is meant to depict natural scenery, so both the water used and the flower stands themselves become an important part of the arrangement since they depict the shoreline. The longer I have this arrangement display, the more peaceful it makes my room feel. Something about the still water...









Third arrangement:
Heika: Kenseitai Adaptation Arrangement

Matierals
Roses
Wisteria Branch
Cysus Palm

This one was fun because I had the chance to experiment with leftover materials. The aim of this arrangement was to incorporate the use of line (kiwifruit vines), surface (leaf) and mass (roses). I actually liked this arrangement better with the leaf removed but decided to keep it for the purpose of fulfilling the aim of unifying all three elements. Another case of less is more I suppose. 

A few interesting tips I learned today:

• Flower stems are to be cut in the water to avoid contact between the air and the flower stem (we call this mizukiri). This helps the flowers last longer.
•  It is better to break Chrysanthemum stems by hand than to cut them with shears because this allows them to absorb more water (Chrysanthemums only!)
• Even numbers are to be avoided for the most part, odd numbers are celebrated in Japanese culture. 
• It is very important to pay attention to the relationship between the role, placement, and direction of the materials in a given arrangement.
• In the standard arrangements shown above, the longest branch (tai) should be one and a half times the length (tall vase) or diameter (tray) of the container used

I'm super lucky to have found such an passionate ikebana teacher who is just as enthusiastic about teaching me as I am about learning, and I already can't wait until my next lesson at the end of October! Hopefully with some more practice, I'll feel confident about displaying my work at the local cultural festival at the beginning of December v(^o^)/