There is no end to it
I began teaching Ikebana at Fran’s Chocolates 8 years ago. My first class was filled with my dear friends. They were interested in Ikebana, wanted to test the water, but they took my class mainly to show their support for me. I’m so grateful for their generosity.
When I started teaching, I had no idea how this endeavor would turn out. I had no set of goals like “I will have xx students and generate $xx in revenue in three years.” The max size of the class was 12 students, due to the size of the large table at Fran’s. I would hold one class on a Thursday afternoon and two classes on a Saturday a month. At first, my classes were rarely filled. More than once I had a class that only one person signed up. I didn’t cancel any classes because of the low turnout. I kept on teaching.
I had my website iloveikebana.com, and posted photos of the arrangements that the students made. Fran’s Chocolates created signage of my classes and placed it at all four retail stores. I did no other advertising.
Gradually my classes began to be filled occasionally. Some people purchased a textbook, came back to the class regularly.
Then the pandemic hit. The store was closed. Out of desperation or boredom, I created several Ikebana tutorial videos at home and posted them on YouTube. Encouraged by my continuing students, I started to teach online. Whenever a new student joined, I asked him/her which neighborhood s/he lived. When one of my online students replied, “I’m taking your class from California,” I realized there was a silver lining to the pandemic.
In eight years, 586 people took my Ikebana at least once. Most of them never came back, which is understandable. They simply wanted to test the water or cross out Ikebana from their bucket list.
Eight years later, 7 people have finished all five Sogetsu textbooks. Twenty lessons on Book 1, 2, 3, and 4, and plus 30 lessons on Book 5. Finishing all five textbooks means that they took at least 110 of my Ikebana lessons. That’s a huge commitment and accomplishment!
Then what’s next?
Well, just as I did, my students go back to study Book 1 Lesson 1. By the time we are used to making freestyle arrangements in Book 3, 4, and 5, we pretty much forget the basics that we learned in Book 1 and 2. As if we were a beginner, we try basic lessons again. The second time around, we may notice things we never did the first time. Like many other traditional Japanese forms of art that are called “the ways of …,” there is no end to “the way of Ikebana.” Not the goal, but the process of pursuing this “way of Ikebana” gives you the profound joy.
In late May, my students participated in our spring Ikebana exhibition. Here are their individual and group arrangements. I hope you enjoy them. Kudos to all of the talented Ikebana arrangers!
