Melbourne Flower Show 2024

To promote the Melbourne Ikebana Festival Shoan and Shoso exhibited at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. The Show is on till 24 March Sunday. https://www.ikebanafestival.com

https://www.shoso.com.au 

https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Shoso at the Melbourne Flower Show 2019 - Stage 3

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show ends tomorrow (31 March 2019). Shoso and several other Wa participants joined the show to promote Wa: Melbourne Ikebana Festival.

Stage 1 & 2
Brief

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Shoso at the Melbourne Flower Show 2019 - Stage 1 & 2

Work in Progress: Stage 1 (Day 1 - 30% done) & Stage 2 (Day2 - 70% done).

My work received the 2nd award at the Shop Window Competition. Thank you my team members, Shoto, Shokai, Shoen, Sophi, Jo, Jenny, Shoan 逍蘊​ & Akemi Suzuki​ for great help.

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, 27 - 31 March 2019. 

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Shoso at the Melbourne Flower Show 2019 - Brief

Come and see Shoso's work at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2019.
27 - 31 March 2019: Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.

Home is where the heart is

The ongoing destruction of our environment by man-made pollution continues to push the world towards catastrophic circumstances. 

In particular, the problem of plastic pollution has become ubiquitous in our oceans, with 90% of sea birds consuming some kind of plastic, and over eight million tons of new plastic rubbish finding its way into the oceans every year. 

There have been a number of political, scientific and social attempts to find a way to get this problem with plastic under control, but the most effective way forward is at the personal level. If we change our habits, we can start to move towards a solution.

However, this kind of change does not happen easily. Personal transformation is a big challenge. Ikebana may help to bring about such a transformation. It teaches us to find harmony between people and nature. At its core is the belief that all living beings are united as one. When we stop objectifying nature, we can find a way to stop harming our home.     

This work features ropes made of recycled plastic shopping bags. The bags have been repurposed as art, and the work aims to point to a brighter future for our home, this beautiful earth, if we can reimagine our relationship with plastic and commit in our hearts to finding alternative ways to think about plastic.

Our home depends more than at any other time in history on where our hearts are.

Shoso Shimbo, PhD

Ikebana Artist

www.shoso.com.au

Melbourne Ikebana Festival 

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Shoso at the Melbourne Flower Show 2019

27 - 31 March 2019: Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show. Shoso Shimbo, Shoan Lo and Akemi Suzuki will exhibit their works.

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Ikebana Today 36

I have been discussing the meaning of the term, ikebana. It is a style of Ikebana developed in the Muromachi period, while Ikebana (with a Capital I) is the general term to encompass all styles of Japanese flower arrangement.

It is proposed that the original meaning of ikebana as well as Ikebana is to  give a new life to a  flower. Arranging flowers is like a ritual that gives new life to the dead cut flower. Ikebana may be comparable to a rite of passage.  

In Japan, births, marriages, coming of age and funerals are all rites of passage that signify the death of old self and rebirth of a new self. It is important to realise that the cut flower as material for Ikebana and a flower as Ikebana work are completely different. Arranging flowers may be like conducting a funeral or a marriage. In any case, that is how I define Ikebana.

The next question is “is Ikebana art?” 

This is my work, Heart,  that I exhibited for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in 2015. It may look simple but it was very hard to make, taking us 3 days to complete. Please visit my site to see a You Tube video of our works at the show. I’m pleased that some of my students also participated in the show.

A few notices:

My course, Japanese Aesthetics: Ikebana to Contemporary Art at RMIT University will start again in July this year. Three Ikebana papers of mine were published this month, including “Ikebana in English: Bibliographical Essay” in the International Journal of Ikebana Studies, Vol.2. Please visit my site for the details.      

http://www.shoso.com.au 
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Shoso & His Students at MIFGS 2015

Enjoy the floral works by Shoso Shimbo and his students at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2015 in 2 min.

Thank you the exhibitors for your great efforts. Thank you all the assistants for your hard work.
Thank you Maddie for allowing us to use your beautiful song. We hope many people will enjoy your music.

HD: https://youtu.be/Z31-LwhP1DI



SD: https://youtu.be/cDBHBl1vDzs



http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Melbourne Flower Show 2015

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show will open on 24 March 2015. Shoso and three of his students, Shoan (Angeline), Risa and Akemi will exhibit their works.

Thank you very much Jo, Shoan, Tian & Shosai (Jennie S.) for great help set up my work over the three days from 22 to 24 March. Especially the last day all of you worked so hard without any break. I am so grateful to have such a skilful team but I will encourage more people to join our team next time.  

I'll write more about the show in another post soon.

http://melbflowershow.com.au

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show 2014

This work Frame is part of a larger interactive project, Showcase 2014, designed specifically for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2014. Showcase has a physical element in this work here, and a virtual element on Facebook. 

Shoso invites you to complete the virtual element by uploading a photo of you and your friends with Frame as a background. To be part of Showcase 2014, stand outside the exhibit and take a photo using Frame as a backdrop. Then follow the instructions below to upload your best photo. Check the ShosoMIFGS Facebook page the next day to see your contribution to Showcase 2014. 

It took us three days to set up the work and many of Shoso's students volunteered to help set up and break down. Thank you Jo, Emalia, Angeline, Jennie, Risa & Akemi for your great help. Without your help, we could not complete the work in time.  

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

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Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2013 - 2/2

Artist Statement - MIFGS 2013

From it's very beginnings, the relationship between people and the environment has been central issue in Ikebana. 

Ikebana arrangements are in a sense a symbolic representation of the harmony that can be achieved between people and nature. However it is becoming more and more clear that we cannot achieve harmony with nature without changing our behavior. 

This work, Meditation on Nature, explores the idea of our changing relationship with nature. The abstract forms of the floating bamboo balls and the flowing split bamboo framing the beauty of the floral work suggest the possibility of a rethinking of our interaction with nature.

Sponsorship

Become a sponsor of Shoso to promote your business to over 100,000 visitors to the show. Please contact Shoso by October to discuss several options. Alternatively, you can just leave your advertising materials or business cards in front of our display. We will contact you later. But this is an expensive option.

http://www.shoso.com.au

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Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2013 - 1/2

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2013 opened from 20 - 24 March. We worked from 8am to 7pm for 3 days to make a six-metre display. The first photo is taken at the end of day 1, and the second one at the end of day 2. The third one is the completed work on 20 March.

My students of Ikebana worked very hard for this project. Thank you Kaori Okui, Risa Yoshimoto, Angeline Lo and Jo Greenthaner. 

http://www.shoso.com.au

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Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2012

In the wake of stressful experiences, people often reassess what is important in their lives. Every year in November, the monks at the Kiyomizu Temple in Japan choose a character that best sums up the year. Last year, it was the character Kizuna, which means “relationships”.

In 2011 Japan suffered a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster and for many people it was their community and relationships that helped them get through the most difficult times. The same can be said for flood and fire ravaged communities in Australia, and in any place where disaster has uprooted lives.

In Ikebana the relationship between people and environments has long been a central issue. 

In this work, I explored the idea of relationship. There are several independent abstract forms, large balls made of plants and flowers, but it is the relationship between the elements that brings both tension and harmony to the work. This work Kizuna is also a metaphor for love.

http://www.shoso.com.au

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