Ikebana International Seattle Chapter 19’s 64th annual exhibition this weekend
Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
Among many events held in Seattle, two of them particularly remind me of the joy of spring. One is Cherry Blossom Festival in April, the other is Annual Exhibition held by Ikebana International Seattle Chapter 19 in May.
At the Cherry Blossom Festival, I enjoyed making five Ikebana arrangements on stage in 45 minutes. You can see four of the arrangements I had prepared at home the day before the demonstration. I would say, the demonstration was 80 % successful. It took longer than I had planned to make the first two arrangements. Well, happenings were to be expected.
All the arrangements were to be taken down immediately after the demonstration was over. At least I didn’t have to worry about stability of the arrangements too much.
The annual exhibition this weekend, however, has a different challenge. I have to create only one arrangement, but it will be displayed for two full days. Many people will come to the event. There will be “please do not touch” signage, but visitors don’t necessarily follow such signs. They might touch the flowers. At the exhibition, the stability of each arrangement is a much higher priority than with the demonstration.
I spent some time this afternoon contemplating what kind of arrangement I should make. I imposed on myself two requirements. First, do not buy flowers, but cut out whatever is in bloom in the yard. Second, use a container that I haven’t used for a while.
These three flowers are available: azalea, wisteria, and Mexican orange, as shown in the photo above. How should I combine these three flowers?
This is what I came up with. The natural curve of the wisteria branch kind of repeats the surface design of the container. How do you like it?
Wisteria tends to wilt quickly. After I cut the end of the stem underwater, I dipped it in sake for about 15 seconds. In addition, I added a little bit of sake to the container of the water. Use sake to prolong wisteria, is one of the tips I learned from my Ikebana teacher.
Let’s hope the wisteria flowers will stay fresh! (I will report to you if the flowers were kept in good shape for two days.)