Ikebana Elements 3- Form X Pattern (Abridged version) @IkebanaDojo
*** This is the abridged version of the tutorial. Participants are sent the full version. If you are a participants for the session, please check your email to find the link for the full instructions.
Always remember that you are aiming to go beyond simply designing an ikebana work to create ikebana through meditation. Following the three-step learning model is recommended: start with a small aspect of design (Form X Pattern in this session), think deeply about all aspects of design until new ideas emerge, and then follow the direction of your new ideas to find poetry in your work.
During this kind of creative meditation, it is hoped that you will be able to learn to “talk to the flowers” rather than thinking about designs analytically (Refer to Shoso's essay, A Flower Arrangement in Search of Poetry).
In this session, 3.8: Form X Pattern, please start making two (or more) massed forms using different materials (massed flowers & massed branches or massed flowers & massed leaves, etc). Combine them carefully. Then, apply the principle of pattern. The massed forms you created may include pattern in themselves and you may develop your design from there.
Alternatively, you may introduce other elements to create pattern, although this approach is not the focus of this session.
Remember that pattern was defined as a regular arrangement of repeated (or alternated) elements or motifs. In Ikebana you may arrange shapes, lines, or colours repeatedly to create an interesting effect. Please revisit Pattern 1 for sample works demonstrating the use of Pattern.
Although sometimes pattern may not be so obvious, you may see some differences in your work if you successfully incorporate pattern. Pattern may emerge only when you meditate on your ikebana materials and talk to your work in the process of making it.
Once you have learned to talk to your flowers, practice ikebana many times so that it will be a part of your life. We are preparing a practical project (1000 Ikebana Challenge) for those who complete our Zoom Ikebana Dojo, Level 3.
Process of Creative Meditation in Form X Pattern
Make two (or more) massed forms using different materials.
Does each form consists of repeated elements?
Do your forms have High & Low density (contrast) in themselves?
Combine the two (or more) massed forms. Refer to fibonacci numbers.
Introduce other elements (line, form, space or colour). Do they work harmoniously with the combination of massed forms? Review what you learned in Four Ikebana Elements in Zoom Ikebana Dojo.
Check your work in terms of other design principles, i.e., movement, contrast and pattern. Review what you learned in Four Ikebana Principles in Zoom Ikebana Dojo. You may not be able to apply all of the principles but trying to incorporate some of them may help improve your work.
Meditate on your work with your selfless mind, without thinking about designs. Make adjustments to reveal a new life (harmony or poetry) in the arrangement.
In some Ikebana workshops, you may hear comments such as "you failed because you did not show contrast well." That is not our approach. We value design but we aim to go beyond design. In Level 3 our goal is to achieve harmony, which is higher than design in our definition.