18
Feature
May | 2023
en, there is the debate over the use of wire in ikebana
arrangements. Some ikebana disciplines/schools, such
as Sogetsu and Ryusei-ha, allow the use wire to create
an art form while others, including Ikenobo, forbid its
use or, at the very least, require that it be hidden.
Another lesson to learn from ikebana philosophy is that
one doesn't need many fl owers to create beauty. Often,
with just four or fi ve fl owers, one can create something
memorable. Ingrid Carozzi, owner of Tin Can Studios,
a fl oral design fi rm in the Red Hook neighborhood of
Brooklyn, N.Y., and author of Flowers by Design, created
an ikebana arrangement for inclusion in her book.
"Ikebana-inspired arrangements are wonderful because
they can fi ll a table without using too many fl owers,"
Carozzi says. " e varying heights in this style of fl ower
arrangement also allows each individual bloom to shine."
Last, but not least, ikebana teaches to value not only the
fl ower in full bloom but also the one in decay. If a petal
happens to fall into the water, then so be it. It's part
of the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi—that there is
beauty in impermanence and imperfection—and even
decay because that, too, is a part of the cycle of life.
Of course, in ikebana fl ower arranging, imperfection is
assembled in harmonious ways to look perfectly lovely.
" … there is beauty in
impermanence and
imperfection—and even
decay because that, too,
is a part of the
cycle of life."
