Josephine Tsai will present a Sumi-e brush painting program, followed by a Workshop. The program will be on Thursday November 21st, 2024 at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 763 S Valley Forge Road, Wayne in St David’s Hall.  In the morning Josephine will speak about the topic and demonstrate brush painting, to begin at 10 AM.  Please bring a brown bag lunch. 

At 1 PM there will be a Workshop for no more than 20 participants.  Josephine will supply the paper, ink and lend brushes for their use.  People can purchase brushes from her if they like.  If you are interested in participating in the workshop, please send a check for $8 (made out to Josephine Tsai)  to Hazel Bliss 147 Lattice Ln  Collegeville, PA 19426.

Time for our next container auction, a fundraiser for our Chapter. Preview of items at auction begins at 9:15a. Auction begins at 10:15a following a short business meeting. This is a great time to augment your container inventory and/or donate or offer up for sale those that you no longer use.

We again are honored to have three of our esteemed Ikebana colleagues, each from the top of their respective schools, make three arrangements during this program. The first will be one of their schools’ classic arrangements. They will then create for us a freestyle arrangement. Finally, they will be challenged to make an arrangement with surprise materials that will show how different schools use the same materials. A potluck lunch is scheduled.

Following a tour of Shofuso, Sachiko Houck will demonstrate for us a Chado (tea ceremony), a Japanese tradition that has been practiced for over 400 years. During this demonstration, a presenter will explain Matcha tea, the history of Chado, and modern Chado in Japan. We will then have the opportunity to observe her making the tea for a guest according to a procedure known as “Temae” while a presenter explains what the host and guest are doing.

Tamiko Lance from the Japan America Society of Grater Philadelphia will present a program about Kimono making and dressing. Topics include Kimono tailors (Waspish), recent Kimono situations, and sustainable Kimono. This will be followed by a talk about and demonstration of Kimono dressing. We will be looking for members willing to be a Kimono model.

In 2018, acclaimed photographer Arthur Tress donated over 1,200 Japanese illustrated books to the Penn libraries. Maria Puzyreva, PhD candidate and a history graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, will join us to introduce some masterpieces from the collection that includes books on kabuki theater, landscape, poetry, calligraphy, kimono design, ikebana, erotica, and more.

We will have a demonstration by Mary Jane Rich, Ichiyo School, using clear glass containers. It will be followed by an afternoon workshop entitled “No Kenzan with Glass.”

A Ginza will be held before this program starting at 9a.

Time to travel once again! Plan on joining your I.I. friends in carpooling to the Grounds for Sculpture to explore the art and sculpture in this beautiful garden. A tour is included and lunch will be on your own in one of the Garden’s restaurants.

Learn about the fascinating art of Bonsai from Chase Rosade, professional Bonsai grower, as he creates a starter tree. A beginning Bonsai will be raffled at the end of the program.

Chase Rosade is a professional Bonsai grower. He has always been interested in plants, and opened the Rosade Bonsai Studio in New Hope, PA in 1970 after returning from studying in Japan. He has taught and lectured all over the world spreading the knowledge and appreciation of Bonsai. Chase continues to create Bonsai as well as educate, demonstrate, and lecture. His standard for excellence in Bonsai has become his trademark. Chase is a founding member of the Pennsylvania Bonsai Society and has been an exhibitor and demonstrator at the Philadelphia Flower Show for over fifty years.

Our demonstrators, each from the top of their respective schools, will do three arrangements. The first will be one of their schools’ classic arrangements. They will then create for us a freestyle arrangement. Finally, they will be challenged to make an arrangement with a mystery bunch of materials. Let’s see how each of the schools utilizes the same materials in their own way! A potluck lunch is scheduled, so please bring your favorite dish to share with your Ikebana friends. This is a great program to bring a friend and introduce them to Ikebana. Ginza.

If you are newly interested in Ikebana and attending as a guest, please email ikebanaphiladelphia71@gmail.com to RSVP. Guest fee is $5.

This program will be presented virtually via Zoom with in-person viewing, demonstration, and brown bag luncheon at the Delaware Center for Horticulture. We will present a pre-recorded lecture via Zoom by Professor Nancy Stalker, Ph.D., University of Hawaii, titled “Budding Fortunes: Ikebana in Japan’s Postwar Recovery.” This lecture is provided by the Ikebana Iwaya Fund through the NCAR liaisons. Members can choose to either watch from home or attend the viewing at the DCH where the lecture will be followed by a live single arrangement demonstration by a representative from each of the three schools discussed in the lecture: Ikenobo, Ohara, and Sogetsu. A brown bag lunch will follow so everyone has the opportunity for some social interaction. If winter weather causes hazardous driving conditions, the program will be entirely virtual with just the Zoom lecture.

While the ground is frozen and our gardens don’t have the flowers and greenery to supply fresh materials for Ikebana arrangements, it’s a perfect time to challenge our creativity using what remains of their dried stalks, pods, and leaves. Members will demonstrate arranging materials they have scavenged during the fall to spark your imagination. Then it will be your turn to enjoy making an arrangement. Plan to bring a container and kenzan or other mechanical material to secure your choice of dried materials. If you are able, please bring extra dried materials to share. When arrangements are completed, enjoy a brown bag lunch surrounded by our creations.

Che-Hwa Wang, Teacher’s Diploma 1st Grade Komon of the Sogetsu School and Professor 1st grade of the Ikenobo School has more than 20 years of experience in Ikebana/Contemporary floral art design and ceramic schulpture. She resides in Houston, TX. Ms. Qang has demonstrated, taught workshops, and exhibited extensively. For the November program, Ms. Wang will demonstrate 6-7 pieces of contemporary style Ikebana. The following day, Friday, November 18th, Ms. Wang will conduct morning and afternoon workshops using Unconventional Materials. The workshops will be held at Montgomery Township Community & Recreation Center, Montgomeryville, PA. Ginza on Thursday and starts at 9am.

Presented by Stephanie English, Sr. Professor First Grade

Video via Zoom

Stephanie English demonstrates twelve stunning arrangements guiding you through the rich and ever-changing history of Ikenobo. From the ancient Tatehana and her unique interpretation of Rikka Shofutai, through the Edo period of Shoka Shofutai, Stephanie authors a floral tribute to Ikenobo’s eminent legacy. Through the modern forms of Shoka Sanshuike (post-WWII), Shoka and Rikka Simputai she beautifully demonstrates Ikenobo’s ability to respond to our changing world. Stephanie captures the post-modern era with several free style arrangements proving Ikenobo is expanding its repertoire to embrace a new generation of Ikebana artists.

Encore date: Tuesday, August 31 at 7pm

Video via Zoom.

Another name for Ikebana is Kado - the way of flowers. Many traditional Japanese arts originate from the concept of Do - a way or path. We will have several practitioners of Japanese arts discuss how this concept both influences their practice and their broader way of thinking about the world around them.

Hosted by Chapter 71

Venue TBD

Plan on attending our exciting container auction. You can win a beautiful container to be used for your future Ikebana arrangements. A selection of containers that are appropriate for Sogetsu, Ikenobo, Ohara, and Ichiyo will be available for you to bid on.

Lead by Brandon Forsht

Venue TBD

Watch some of our talented members represent their schools by creating Olympic inspired designs. Designs expressing movement? Incorporating a piece of sporting equipment? Who knows what our creative designers will come up with, but they are all sure to go for the gold medal. Don’t forget, this is a great program to invite a friend to join you, as it will be a fun introduction to Ikebana.

Lecture by Paul MacLardy

Video via Zoom

Paul MacLardy, proprietor of Arise Bazaar and co-author of Komono-Vanishing Traditions will present rare kimono and discuss the meaning, weaving, and surface finishing of kimono in the context of strict rules governing kimono production. He illuminates the ingenious ways those rules were bent during the Edo period. There will be examples of kimono ware from the simple yukata to the formal court costumes. Paul highlights the changes made when Japan became a more open society allowing “common” people to start wearing kimono and the ingenious ways kimono producers meet this new demand, at affordable prices. Jasmine Taylor, a kimono dresser, will be assisting Mr. MacLardy in the presentation.

Encore date: Saturday, April 24 at 2pm

Featuring our own chapter members crafting containers!

Video via Zoom.

Containers are almost as essential to Ikebana as flowers. Creating your own containers is a great way to help further your study and express yourself artistically. Both natural materials, like paper and bamboo, and man-made materials like PVC can be crafted into flower containers using simple tools. Several of our members will be demonstrating techniques you can use to create your own works at home.

Encore Date: Tuesday, March 30 at 7pm

Demonstrator: Susan Cano, Riji First Grade

Video via Zoom

The essence of Ikebana lies in the relationship between flowers and the container. When we do an arrangement, we normally think of the materials first, especially for new students. Focusing on the container first, new ideas of composition may come to mind. Susan Cano illustrates this concept several ways with over eight different creative arrangements. The color wheel and how colors contrast and harmonize impact the color of the container when selecting your materials. You will see how an arrangement is enhanced when shown in one color container versus another. Her arrangements alone are inspiring, but when you see how they change depending on the color of the container, you will be inspired yourself to consider container color when selecting your materials and create even more beautiful designs.

Encore date: Saturday, February 27 at 2pm

Demonstration by Satsuki Palter, Sub Grand Master

Video via Zoom

Satsuki Palter, Ohara Sub-Grand Master, tells her story. It is an affirmation of her sense of place. Through her delightful video you come to understand how Ikebana makes connections in our lives. Satsuki’s stunning arrangements are connected by a visual narrative of her community, her students, her garden, and her heart. From her breathtaking Rimpa to sweeping and contemplative scenery arragnements, Satsuki shows the beauty and artistry of Ohara.

Encore Date: Tuesday, February 2 at 7pm

Lecture by Laura Felt

Video via Zoom

For some, creating with washi paper might be challenging. Not so for Laura Felt who can cover most anything with washi paper. Working with washi is easy when you follow Laura’s start to finish instructions for covering napkin rings, ornaments, and tissue boxes with washi paper. Don’t forget to check out her list of materials (including ordering washi paper on the internet), and step-by-step directions for all three items she demonstrates in the video.

Encore date: Saturday, December 19th at 2pm

Led by Steven Ittel. The art of bonsai (literally meaning “planted in a container”) originated in China, where it is called pun-sai, during the 8th century. It is believed that the first miniature landscapes in containers were brought to Japan at least twelve hundred years ago by monks as religious souvenirs. A thousand years ago, Utsubo Monogatari wrote in Tale of the Hollow Tree, “A [full-size] tree that is left growing in its natural state is a crude thing. It is only when it is kept close to human beings who fashion it with loving care that its shape and style acquire the ability to move one.”

Mr. Ittel is the Vice President of the Brandywine Bonsai Society, and instructor at Longwood Gardens. He is also an amateur potter. His lecture will focus on the basics of bonsai care and how bonsai are styled.

Plant sale and book auction.

As we get ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, come watch some of our talented members represent their schools by creating Olympic-inspired designs. Designs expressing movement? Incorporating a piece of sporting equipment? Who knows what our creative designers will come up with, but they are all sure to go for the gold medal. Don’t forget this is a great program to bring a friend to, as it will be a fun introduction to Ikebana.

Pot up some of your favorite garden plans and houseplants to share! Our biannual plant sale is a great way to find flower material to grow for using in your ikebana practice. In years past there have been some very hard to find plants available at great prices and this year will be no exception.

Ginza and Potluck Lunch

Willi Singleton creates naturally glazed wood fired pottery from using locally sourced materials. He serves as artist-in-residence at Cedar Crest College. His kiln, built into a hillside, was created in 1987 at his studio in Kempton, PA. As an artist he strives to connect his pottery with place, a practice inspired by his teachers, Shigeyoshi and Tansō Ichino in Tamba, Japan, and Tappo Narui in Mashiko, Japan, where he apprenticed in the 1980s. He will be discussing his work and how a sense of place informs his design.

Potluck lunch.

Workshop led by Brandon Forsht.

Once a flower is cut from the plant, we have ended its life. It is our duty as ikebana artists to create something beautiful in the short time the flower has left. While some plant materials simply do not last when cut, others just need a little help. That help can come in the way of fire, ice, crushing, alcohol, alum or other chemicals. While some of these methods may seem like torture, they will aid the flower in taking up water.

Brown bag lunch.

A feast for all these senses. Long before refrigeration was invested pickling foods presented a way of making foods last longer. Brining, fermenting and acid pickling are ways of preserving foods without adding unnatural chemicals. While some pickles take months to make, others can be made in days or even minutes. In Japan, pickles can be found in every market, and even in kiosks at the train station. They play an integral part in Washoku–the traditional cooking of Japan. Pickles are used in all parts of the meal and can even be used in desserts. A few of our talented members will demonstrate how a variety of styles of Asian pickles are prepared. You may even find a recipe to use this Thanksgiving! 

Soup and rice will be served to accompany the pickles prepared.

Paul MacLardy is an author and owner of Arise Bazaar in Clinton, Maryland, one of the largest Japanese textile emporiums in the nation. His lecture will focus on the changes that occurred in traditional Japanese clothing following the opening of Japan to the West in the mid-1800s.

During that time, major political, ideological and economic changes were happening. Advances in manufacturing and the movement of goods led to a “Kimono Explosion”. The middle class could finally afford to own and wear kimonos. This lecture and exhibit will feature examples of kimonos from the 1800s through the 1930s and explain how changes in the industry led to innovative kimonos that were both available and affordable to a wider population. Please note that Paul will be bringing items for sale.