Ikebana (生け花, “arranged flower”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement.

Unlike traditional western flower arrangement, which focuses almost exclusively on the flower blossoms and their colors, Ikebana designers consider the entire flower—the bloom, stems, and leaves—when creating arrangements. The rules that govern traditional Ikebana emphasize shape, line, form, color, and meaning. The art represents a marriage of nature and humanity: Ikebana uses the designer’s hand to integrate raw pieces of the natural world into an arrangement that becomes nature, distilled and presented for the human eye.

To me, Ikebana is an imagined landscape of flowers, leaves, green stems, and woody branches. Each piece in an arrangement relates to the others in a sort of dancing conversation. Arrangements display an asymmetrical balance that reflects the current season, using the three dimensional space to convey tension, fluidity, and movement.

Stay and learn about my history with ikebana, read the Austin Ikebana blog or get in touch if you’d like.