..."a contemplative art!"

Ikebana Unbound: A Modern Approach to the Ancient Japanese Art of Flower Arranging

by Amanda Luu; Ivanka Matsuba    

Ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging, with Zen Buddhist roots. The thing is it's such a contemplative form of doing that it brings the concept of rest into our focus, the mindfulness of the doing and constructing.
As the authors declare in their vey thoughtful opening, in today's trends towards minimalism , "ikebana feels undeniably fresh and incredibly resonant."
Ikebana finds "inspiration in the natural world," and looks to combining tenets of movement, balance and simplicity. However Luu and Matsuba have taken ikebana's traditional edicts and broken away, reforming  this art form in a pleasing and modern light.
The coherence of the book is centered around "four of Ikebana's most salient themes: naturalness, balance, movement and simplicity" incorporating seasonal flowerings and fruitings. The variety of containers and pots used is exciting, making me want to explore the dark reaches of my cupboards for interesting vessels that I could use.
The photographic record is exquisite in it representations and does much to make this book not only a pleasurable learning tool but a visual delight.
Now I'm no ikebana expert or devotee but I was captivated by this book, so much so that I'm going to purchase the hard copy. (My purchasing preference for such works, including art books is always the hard copy)
I really that in these times the meditative aspect of Ikebana is like a soothing balm to the spirit.
BTW I adore Hellebores and loved that they were included in a couple of the arrangements. To my mind they're a rather shy plant, yet absolutely stunning and here they starred.
This book breaks away from the established form, playing with given ideas and imbuing a  new impetus. I loved it!

An Artisan Books ARC via NetGalley

*****