Ikebana – An old oriental art made new at the Carnegie

Saturday, October 17 was Ikebana day at the Carnegie as enthusiasts of all ages put the 1600 year old art from Japan and Korea into practice.

Ikebana? What’s that?

Ikebana is a way to arrange and display flowers and other natural items that creates a simple but dramatic composition much the way that a painter creates a composition with colors. Specific items can be selected from plants found commonly along the paths and roads or around one’s home.

In this case, the Albany Public Library Foundation provided all the materials needed – flowers big and small and all sorts of other natural items. The Foundation also had frogs freely available to all.

Frogs? In a library?

In this case, yes, frogs in the library – but these frogs were not the ribbit variety but rather metal rounds with pins sticking up to hold plant stems in place.

The core idea is to select one item at a time on the basis of its own appeal as well as its contribution to an overall (simple) composition. In making the composition, attention should be paid to three levels – bottom, middle, and top because originally ancient Ikebana celebrated the unity of earth, people, and heaven. Over the years, a myriad of schools and theories have evolved and the approaches have become more diverse but echoes of the three level approach remain.

At the Carnegie, people worked diligently on their creations and the results were stunning. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

There are at least two books in the Albany Public Library about Ikebana that were available at the event and that have since been returned to the shelves: Ikebana Unbound (745.9225) and Keiko’s Ikebana (745.92).

Our next sponsored event is a Holiday Card Making workshop, Saturday November 21st from 10:30 to 12:00 PM at the Carnegie Library 302 Ferry St SW. All materials will be provided, just bring your imagination. The event is free and open to all ages.