If you’ve ever studied a traditional Japanese flower arrangement and said to yourself, “Hey, that looks easy. I think I’ll try it at home” you may find out later there was more to your project than, at first, met your eye. It’s kind of like Picasso’s simple line drawings: anyone may be able to imitate them, but to come up with the IDEAS behind them—ahhhh, that’s quite a different matter. 

I bring this up, because over the weekend, I attended the annual Ikenobo Ikebana Society show at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. It’s an event I look forward to every year, because of the way just being in the room forces every bulb in my brain and dusts my soul with (hypo-allergenic) Fairy Pollen. The modernista and design geek in me loves the natural, elegant simplicity of the designs and the inventive interplay of flora and container. My Outer Gardener kvells at the sight of so many architectural flowers, leaves and branches. And the creative director in me loves…The Rules.

Ikebana is all about rules. The fun part is, literally, bending them.

Began by a Buddist monk in the 15^th Century, Ikebana literally means “arranged flower.” Originally an art of the spiritual elite, it can now be studied and mastered by anyone with the interest, talent or patience to do so.  There are many different Ikebana schools globally. The one whose show I attended happens to have over 60,000 teachers alone.

Without oversimplifying, which I admittedly tend to do (thus my interpretation and practice of another Asian art as Fung Shui Light), the main structure of Ikebana is formed by a triangle, created by twigs (symbolizing Heaven/Earth/Man or Sun/Moon/Earth) and arranged with a few flowers and greenery and maybe some river rocks. There should never be more than three elements and two of them should be the same. The vase or bowl or basin is also integral to the overall composition, which is why I’ve included a few samples here.

Long term, I hope to seriously engage with Ikebana. In the meantime, feel free to visit me in the virtual Shinto Bauhaus, where less is always more.