MY APPROACH
“Anytime, Anywhere, by Anyone - In 1927, when everybody believed practicing ikebana meant following established forms, Sofu Teshigahara recognized Ikebana as a creative art and founded the Sogetsu School. Anyone can enjoy Sogetsu Ikebana anytime, anywhere, using any material.“
(source: https://www.sogetsu.or.jp/e/about/)
My approach is to teach students the deeper meaning of Sogetsu Ikebana. For me, it is important not only to learn and realize the formal beauty of an Ikebana arrangement, but also to feel and realize the spiritual energy and message of an Ikebana arrangement, which "becomes a temporary manifestation of eternity that has emerged in time" (Keiji Nishitani, The Japanese Art of Arranged Flowers).
For me, Ikebana is a spiritual art creating a transitory beauty experienced in the moment.
THOUGHTS ABOUT IKEBANA
“The main element of ikebana is not the flower but the spirit of bringing them to life”
(Sofu Teshigahara, Kadensho 3)
"The death of flowers that have been severed while living transcends the life of nature, transcends the construct of time, and signifies a movement into new life as a moment."
(Keiji Nishitani, The Japanese Art of Arranged Flower)
"Being able to express the totality of the universe through a single element is at the heart of ikebana.”
(Sofu Teshigahara, Kadensho 15)
"Such beauty is momentary and yet it is as if that momentariness is transformed into a beauty of a higher order. … This momentariness of a higher order expresses eternity.“
(Keiji Nishitani, The Japanese Art of Arranged Flower)
“The heart comes first, then the hands follow.”
(Sofu Teshigahara, Kadensho 40).
