Question

Anyone has made Ikebana Japanese art of flower decoration? give some ideas to make it, attached some pics also

Answer 1



Select your vessel

You can use a special ikebana container or a simple bowl, but you will need a flower frog to help hold your flower stems upright and at the correct angles. If you’re not familiar with flower frogs, they are metal or lead devices that sit at the bottom of a container to hold flowers in an arrangement in place with metal needles.

For this arrangement, we used a vintage handmade ceramic bowl with a flower frog built into the bottom of the vessel. While you can purchase a similar ikebana container online — we like these handmade options via the Doug Smith Pottery shop on Etsy — you can also make your own version at home by placing a flower frog at the bottom of a small- to medium-sized bowl.



Gather your flowers

Here’s what we used from left to right:

White Hyacinth

Lavender Sweet Peas

Poppy

White Sweet Peas

Because ikebana focuses on appreciating the current season, we chose a spring mix of sweet peas, hyacinth and a pretty poppy, but it’s OK to go off script and focus on the local, seasonal options that speak to you. Even foraged items from your backyard make for beautiful arrangements. Flowering branches in spring and branches with colorful leaves in fall make great additions.

Measure and cut

Select your primary stem and cut to size. The goal is to achieve that classic triangular ikebana shape with stems of varying heights. To start, choose your primary stem, which will be the tallest in this arrangement (about 5-6 inches tall). In this case, we chose to cut the poppy and the white sweet pea to a similar height to give the thin stem of the poppy some more heft and impact.

Measure and cut the other two stems. Cut your secondary stem (the lavender sweet pea) to 2/3 the size of the ornamental stem. Your ornamental stem (hyacinth) will be the shortest and should be cut to about half the length of the primary stem.



Arrange your stems

Our arrangement is loosely based on the tatehana style, which translate as “standing flowers” because the stems seem to stand upright in their container. This is where the flower frog comes in handy because it allows you to stand your primary stem upright while holding the others at slanted angles. Place the primary stem vertically in the back left portion of your flower frog.

For this arrangement, we placed the poppy and white sweet pea side by side. Both should be standing straight up. Next, place the secondary stem in the front left portion of the flower frog and tilt it to the left at a 45 degree angle. Finally, place your ornamental stem in the front right of the flower frog and tilt it to the right at about a 60 degree angle.



Check your work

At this point, the flowers should form a triangular shape.

Admire the arrangement as it ages

While you’ll want to change the water in your container every other day to extend the life of your flowers, take the time to appreciate each stem as it droops, fades and drops its petals. Ikebana celebrates the fleetingness of beauty and the brevity of life. Taking the time to acknowledge and admire the constant movement and changes in your arrangement will make the practice of ikebana all the more meditative.

Answer 2

Yoshiyasu Tamura (1977, Gunma, Japan)  is called a mangaka and honoured as a hero in his home country Japan. But this description alone does not do justice to his reputation. Besides being a cartoonist he is also a celebrated artist, illustrator and technical genius. Mexico City, Basel, Taipei, Los Angeles, New York and Florence cover a fraction of cities where his works have been exhibited and he has collaborated with no one less than fashion designer McQ Alexander McQueen. Now his latest works have found their way to Amsterdam. They will be on display in KYAS ART SALON from the 23rd of February till the 21st of April. Not only for fans of Japanese pop culture this is a must-see. Also for lovers of Western painting a visit could be more than worthwhile. 

Tamura's style is best described as a point blank culture clash; a mix of traditional Japanese drawing, manga and western painting. East meets west. Women play the leading part in most of his works. These women are not depicted in a realistic fashion but are glorified through the ideals of manga culture in which eyes play a crucial part. On the other hand Tamura's works are clearly inspired by western renaissance; women are attributed godlyfeatures, just like in the world of manga. Also other styles from the renaissance can be found, like the use of gold plate. "When I was 15 years old I traveled abroad for the first time in my life. Especially in Italy I was struck by the beauty of religious works. They finally became the foundation for my later work.

Tamura aims for the decorative and extravagant, mainly by the use of rich colors and pigments. "My goal is to find a common between western and japanese painting, modern manga and animé. It is an art to rediscover and redisign these elements.