Maybe ten or fifteen years ago, I happened upon my first ikebana exhibit. I was surprised by how intrigued I was by the displays. Long familiar with flower arrangements, I had no idea how evocative and beautiful the displays could be. Due to a combination of poor timing and ignorance about the ikebana scene, I’ve seen few displays in the intervening years, and only last month did I catch my first local exhibition.

The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of Ikebana International presented an ikebana exhibit at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park on March 16-17, 2013. It was a great show. Although I know little about ikebana beyond the fact that it can include flowers, I know enough to appreciate the effort that went into the many beautiful arrangements.

Sogetsu

One facet I gleaned from the exhibit was that there a number of different approaches to ikebana organized into distinct schools. Each arrangement was labeled with the creator and the school represented. Among the seven schools represented – Sogetsu, Ikenobo, Wafu, Aratame, Chiko, Enshu and Ohara – most of the displays appeared to belong to the Sogetsu school. From their website:

Modern contemporary life is reflected in Sogetsu ikebana with emphasis on individual expressions. Natural and manmade materials are widely used, often in unexpected ways. Students often make their own containers and give special attention to the environment in which the work is placed.

Below are some of the Sogetsu ikebana on display at the exhibit – I’ll share photos from the other schools Friday.