Ikebana, or 'living flowers'
SAXONBURG — Light and color seem to be in short supply right now in these gray days of January.
But a harmonious blending of branches, leaves and blossoms brings a bit of nature to the home of Shirley Winkler.
Winkler practices the Ichiyo school of ikebana, or Japanese flower arranging.
Winkler lived in Japan for six years between 1969 and 1975 when her husband worked for Pennzoil.
“I lived in Kobe, Japan, and there are many arts available,” Winkler said. “It was through a friend who suggested I take ikebana. I finally found an English-speaking teacher and she was Ichiyo. It could have been any school.
“In Ichiyo, less is more,” Winkler said. “We have beautiful arrangements. We deal with nature, and we have voids and movement.”
Winkler said ikebana grew out of the religious sentiment of the earliest Japanese, who attributed a spiritual role of all living things in nature: rocks, moss, water, driftwood, trees and flowers.
It incorporates the foliage and flowers of the season in their natural state, but perfected by the skills of an arranger.Ikebana, which translates as “living flowers,” is an art form that uses flowers and plant life to create compositions whose beauty may be overlooked if the same materials were seen in nature.“I can put an arrangement together in 30 minutes,” Winkler said. “A student will take 45 to 50 minutes.”There are numerous schools of ikebana, each with its own set of rules and techniques.The Ichiyo school was founded in Japan in 1937 by a brother and sister, Meikof and Ichiyo Kasuya. The two sought to create original ikebana suitable for modern lifestyles and environments.The two core philosophies of the school are the concept that an arrangement must fit the environment in which it is displayed and that the individual arranger's emotions and character are expressed in the arrangement.“An American florist will jam flowers into a vase,” Winkler said.“Ichiyo emphasizes simplicity, aesthetic joy and elegance. Natural elements — branches, rocks — are incorporated into the arrangements.”Winkler, whose yard with its rocks and lanterns reflects her fascination with Japanese aesthetics, became a charter member of the Kobe Ikebana International Chapter and is past president of the Ikebana International Pittsburgh Chapter.
“I started the Ichiyo School of Ikebana Pittsburgh Chapter in 1982,” Winkler said. “In 1998, I became an executive master, one of only five in the West.”In 2012, in honor of the chapter's 30th anniversary, Winkler invited Akihiro Kasuya, the iemoto, or headmaster, of the Ichiyo school of Japanese flower arranging, to be the featured speaker during two days of workshops at the Butler Country Club.At the time, Akihiro Kasuya, Meikof's son, said of his arrangements: “It can go any place. Before, there was only one place for the display of calligraphy or flower arrangements, the tokonoma (alcove).“But now in Japan, the system changes,” Kasuya said. “Before, Japan was not connected with other countries. Japan was closed. But with the living system getting changed, ikebana must change.”When asked how the classes went, Kasuya said, “This lesson, I don't talk much, but the people were quiet and respectful.”Since 1976, Winkler has taught ichiyo in classes at Phipps Garden Center, Phipps Conservatory and Botantical Gardens, the University of Pittsburgh, Butler's Maridon Museum and at the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts.Winkler said assuming there is an easing of pandemic restrictions, she will begin a new set of classes beginning at 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month starting in April and running through November at the Butler County Country Club,Those interested in signing up for the class should email slwink@zoominternet.net.
