This month, we had member Maude Freymond-Wanner, an artist of her own right, to conduct the workshop and the theme was to work with only one material plus exploring light and reflection through the Ikebana.

Maude’s intention behind using “Only One Kind of Material” was to push the boundaries of her design practice and embrace creative opportunities that would likely remain unexplored if she had more options. She deliberately selected a material that she doesn’t particularly love, but one and she see every day: “the palm tree”. She used the natural and dried forms of the palm leaves, stems and barks to create Ikebana and by using reflection and lighting, amazing Ikebana arrangements were produced.

1st Ikebana: Replicating the Shape of Her Container – the palm leaf, shaping it to echo the form of the container and the twist: “what was cut is “given back” reflected in a mirror beneath the work”.

2nd Ikebana: Working with the Palm Stem – the minimalist essence of the material, emphasizing the line of the stem and creating a suspended visual effect. Color added to the dried leaf was also designed as a “night ikebana”, reflected by the lighting effects.

3rd Ikebana: Woven, dyed, and sprayed palm leaves with copper vase adding depth and volume to the arrangement. The shadows cast by this ikebana became especially intriguing when projected onto a large wall.

4th Ikebana. Stems Upside Down – dried palm stems are used, cut into segments, highlighted with fluorescent paint. Beeswax was also applied on the large dried leaf to bring out the texture and gold spray added to the part attached to the trunk, enhancing both the material’s depth and its woven qualities, and it turned out to be an incredible Ikebana under UV light.

Maude also wanted to share the following quotes which she forgot to do at the workshop.

“The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself of the chains that shackle the spirit.” – Igor Stravinsky

“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” – Orson Welles

“Limitations aren’t roadblocks; they’re opportunities, stepping stones to mastery. Constraints aren’t just a path to creativity, they are the path.” – Ritchie Roesch.

It was really an inspiring workshop, and all members embraced the theme and created amazing Ikebana.