Flower-Arranging

[squirmelia]

I looked at her in disbelief and laughed when we gazed upon the black wooden noticeboard near to the village hall and noticed the sign pinned to it, advertising flower-arranging classes. It confirmed our fears about the village, so we ripped the paper from the board, hoping it would be replaced with something a little less twee- graffiti or skyscrapers, perhaps.

Of course, it never was, but a decade or so on, I am reading Douglas Coupland's "Super City", a short book that accompanies his Super City exhibition currently displaying in Montréal. Some of the pages in the book contain squares full of lego collections, freeways, water towers, and surprisingly, ikebana flower arrangements.

Doug writes that when he was at art school in Japan, all students had to study ikebana and now he likes to do a new ikebana every two weeks ("I acknowledge that I'm a child of plastic and machines; ikebana is how I stay rooted.") He also mentions the first time he made the link between architectural forms and ikebana.

The ikebana arrangements in the photos (and indeed, most ikebana arrangements) are not full of voluptuous blooms, bursting from hideously over-filled vases, but are minimalist arrangements, often containing tangles of twigs.

Inspired by this, I collected sticks and leaf skeletons from Asylum Green and then covered some of them in paint. The bundle of twigs on my bedroom floor looks almost as if I intend to start a bonfire, as opposed to any kind of arrangement, but actually, it is my misconceptions that have been cindered, rearranged, much like in other aspects of life, I suppose.

Comments

[criesbella.livejournal.com]

oooh, jodi--
x-post this to [Unknown site tag]
if you haven't already!
xo, a

[criesbella.livejournal.com]

MICROSERFS community,
i tried to type above!

[maytricks.livejournal.com]

This is lovely. I live in Montreal and I feel inspired to go see that exhibition. I adore Ikebana. I studied it a bit myself in school as part of my design class.

Ikebana... vs. Art

[kiki-mog.livejournal.com]

I find the Japanese are quite strange in their arts, some of them like ikebana are very minimalist and neat. Some like laquerwork and silk prints are what you might call 'busy' or intricate and over the top.

Hey, mail me from your home address, k?

Nice

[erinaf.livejournal.com]

Very cool entry and photo!

How freaky!

[robotron-5000.livejournal.com]

I was browsing the OMII website the other day, in a fit of geekyness, and I happened upon your name! Could it be?! The girl who was on the same Stuart N Hardy mailing list as me years ago?! It was!!! :-) And with my excellent stalker-esque powers, I have found your LJ too!

Will you be going to the e-Science AHM in September?! :-)

Re: How freaky!

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed, that is me, although I have since given up trying to find Stuart N. People at OMII have mentioned a trip to some kind of e-Science centre in September, so it might be that one?

Re: How freaky!

[robotron-5000.livejournal.com]

Yes! Come to Nottingham in September! (http://www.allhands.org.uk) It would be funky to sneak up on you unawares and proclaim in front of everyone that at last I have found another Hardy fan :-) Plus, the whole meeting is relatively good fun, and you get to win prizes and stuff.

Last year, when OMII was just being set up, I remember Steve Newhouse collaring me at the AHM and thinking I was really interested in OMII, when in reality I just wanted the flashing yo-yo that they were giving to everyone who signed up for the OMII mailing list :-)

Check this out:

Never let it be said that OMII have never produced anything useful! (http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/~pmt/yoyo.jpg)

Re: How freaky!

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I suspect I'll be there if I don't go on holiday somewhere instead, but would definitely be there if you bring Hardy along with you.

I was given a flashing yo-yo and a tin of mints also. Very exciting. :)

Re: How freaky!

[robotron-5000.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.... holiday or visting Nottingham. It's a tough choice! Last year, you missed a western-themed buffet dinner (with Tony Hey dressed up as a cowboy, a fake cactus, a smoke machine, and bales of hay!). It was quite probably the tackiest meal of my life.

I'll go past Sheffield on the way to Nottingham. Perhaps I could ask Hardy to write an angry letter (complete with the use of colour as an emotional intensifier) about the standard of catering?

*reads the above*

I should just clarify that Tony Hey wasn't disguised as both a cowboy AND - at various times - a fake cactus, a smoke machine and bales of hay (despite the pun). No. Don't think that for a minute, just as you should never think that he derives any kind of secret pleasure from pretending to be inanimate objects. No. Not at all!