Ikebana is the Japanese art of arranging flowers which are used as a temple offering. Although it still is used as a temple offering in the Japanese culture today, the Ikebana technique has also become a fashionable art, and spread to other cultures as well.
It is a delicate Japanese art in which flowers are arranged in a much sophisticated and sensitive manner, which requires a lot of attention to detail. Overall it may be described as ‘minimalist design’, but similar to Bonsai trees, there’s an exacting process involved.
In this article, we’re going to share some helpful Ikebana techniques you can use for flower and bouquet arrangements.
Bending stems using heating and cooling method
Bending flower stems is not as simple as it sounds, because they can easily break between careless fingers. This is where the delicate, zen-like Japanese approach really shows in the final product. You may want to study some artisanal flower bouquets before getting started, and you can read this guide on ordering artisanal bouquets online.
The stems must be bent while under heat, and then for the stems to retain the angle you’ve set them to, they must be immediately cooled down. Care must be taken not to leave any noticeable burn marks on the flower stems as well.
For Ikebana it is important to have adequate information regarding the plants you’re using in your bouquet, and also important gardening techniques for growing the healthiest plants possible. We start with the plant’s stem or branch. Whether it’s delicate or supple. Mostly, green plants have heavy sap which is heated and cooled according to the desired state.
Creating bends using scissors
Similar to flower stems, twigs and branches are quite stiff and upon bending they are likely to break, although they may be a little more flexible. Hence using a scissor you can make a cut that is one-half the diameter of the original size of the branch and tenderly bends it for the barks to overlap.
Using wire
Flowers that have hollow stems are difficult to make prop straight. Hence a thin wire can be tenderly pushed upwards from the bottom of the stem.
Using kenzan
Some western unorthodox florists resort to making use of a foam base in place of a lead base (which increases the weight which allows readjusting plants) which is quite light and limits the user from readjusting the plants.
The orthodox Ikebana artists use Kenzans that come with brass needles on top of the lead base. The flower stem is then cut at an angle which enables the artist/florist to easily stabilize it. In contrast, portions of flowers with thicker branches are cut away to adjust the bottom into a thinner one, and then it is pushed onto the needles forcibly.
To conclude, these are some of the Ikebana techniques which we can use while preparing our bouquet for someone dear and near to us. Flowers as a gift are the ideal way to convey your affection towards the recipient. However, with an Ikebana styled bouquet, the recipient would be picturing you putting your time and effort into creating it for them.
Gifts are meant to surprise the recipient in a way that he or she goes through a phase of happiness, awe, or adoration upon setting their eyes onto it. However, not all gifts are worth making the recipient experience this feeling.
To ensure the recipient goes through this feeling takes a bit of your effort and time. If you are looking for such a gift, then unique gifts made with a lot of meticulous care are surely the ones you must think of. When we talk about meticulous and unique Ikebana strikes at first thought.
