Ikebana, Tea, Furoshiki

This weekend I went to see the Crow Collection of Asian Art with my friend J. from work.  We had a great time!  I learned about Ikebana, Japanese Tea Ceremonies and Furoshiki.

When we got to the exhibit, we meandered around beautifully painted Japanese Art, Carved jade pieces and the largest pure crystal sphere I have ever seen.  The jade bottles, carvings and boxes were amazing!    Then it was time for the Tea Ceremony discussion.  It was fascinating.  The lecturer was one of the owners of The Cultured Cup,  A gourmet tea, coffee, and chocolate shop located in Dallas.  I got to taste three different types of Japanese green teas; Hojicha, Genmaicha and Sencha Midori.  I loved them all, and was amazed by the different flavors they all had.   Kyle, the speaker was very knowledgeable.  I learned about Chabana - the special floral arrangements used for tea ceremonies, and “Wabi-Sabi style”- which basically means that in life one should appreciate the beauty of things that are imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.  That is why the imperfection of the Japanese Tea bowl is viewed as beautiful.  Kyle passed around examples of Japanese tea bowls, and a German made perfect porcelain cup.  This helped in emphasizing his point, that it is important to appreciate the beauty in the imperfect. 

After the Tea Ceremony presentation, we went to see the Ikebana.  They were beautiful.  In principle, Ikebana is a disciplined art form where the arrangement is a living thing in which nature and humanity are brought together.  It is steeped in the philosophy of developing a closeness with nature.  Many practitioners of Ikebana feel that the spiritual aspect of Ikebana is very important.  One becomes quiet when one practices Ikebana.  It helps you to live “in the moment” and to appreciate things in nature that previously seemed insignificant.  One becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but more generally in other people.  In some Ikebana, the relationship between heaven, earth and man is represented.  There are many different schools of Ikebana, each with their own methods and techniques.  Americans tend to just throw flowers in a vase.  In Ikebana; thought, composition, spirituality, and connection with nature, are all explored to create a living work of art. 

The final event of the day was a demonstration of Furoshiki.  Furoshiki is the Japanese art of cloth wrapping.  We even got to try our hand at it.  In 2006 in Japan, their Minister of Environment recommended that people use Furoshiki to help reduce waste in the environment.  She wanted the utilization of  “Mottainai Furoshiki“ to contribute to reducing household waste from plastic bags.  I am going to make myself a purse using this method with one of my old scarves. 

All in all, I had a great time!  I learned some very fascinating things about the Japanese culture, and I definitely want to explore this some more!