Melbourne Ikebana Festival, 29 and 30 August 2026ikebanafestival.com
Longing for AutumnShoso Shimbo's Solo Exhibition, Distilling Nature, Monash University, February 2013
Christmas Installation for the City of Ballarat, 2013An official servay found that Shoso's magical tunnel was the most popular among the people in the city.
BouquetsShoso's floral works are a special addition to your wedding or other special events.
Bridal BouquetsShoso specialises in fully wired bridal bouquets.

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Daily Meditation: Japanese Mahonia

By 22:51

The volume and position of Japanese Mahonia is crucial in this work. Its yellow buds function to emphasise the dominant vertical movement without disturbing the movements of the curved leaves. The yellow dots also correspond to the four tops of the green stems cut sharply. The essence of traditional Rikka style was appropriated in this contemporary design.

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

Monday, 10 August 2015

Sunday, 9 August 2015

Saturday, 8 August 2015

Thursday, 6 August 2015

Ikebana for a Hen's Party

By 07:03

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR A HEN’S PARTY?

A recent client hired a function room at a cafe and combined an Ikebana Workshop with Afternoon Tea to celebrate her Hen’s Party. Everybody there thought it was so relaxing and a great idea which they thoroughly enjoyed.

So, if you are looking for something different for a Hen’s Party, contact Shoso Shimbo and he can show you some examples of his work with flowers and how to find relaxation and create a warm and vital atmosphere among the participants which will help lead to a memorable wedding.

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

Ikebana Today 38

By 23:07

To answer the question, "Is Ikebana art?", we need to look into the history
of Ikebana as well as that of art in the 20th century. When and how did they
interact in that century? While it is relatively easy to overview the
history of Ikebana, the history of art seems to be so chaotic.

I found contemporary art and its history are very hard to comprehend. In
particular the Japanese literature on the topic is difficult to
comprehend. Why do they have to be like that? Maybe because they are talking about something they don't really understand?

Fortunately, a number of great introductory books on contemporary art have
been recently published. I guess that many people must have felt the same
way about the literature on the contemporary art. One of the books I liked
was "Why Is That Art?" by Terry Barrett, Oxford U.P. (2012). From the
reading of the book, I will summarise the history of art briefly in the next
issue.

This small work is a good example of assembling different plant materials in
harmony. The process of making it was a true meditation. I'm going to use
this image for my free calendars for next year. Please download them for
free from my website. You can also read my articles published in Living Now
for free online. Lastly, please check the results of the Ikebana Gallery Award 2015 in my site.


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

Thursday, 23 July 2015

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Monday, 20 July 2015

Ikebana Today 37

By 16:43

I have been talking about what Ikebana is and came to a conclusion last month. Our next question is “Is Ikebana Art?” To answer that question, first we have to make it clear what art is. But that is a very difficult question. Not many people can give a clear and concise answer, because there are so many definitions of art. All I can do is to give my own answer.

I’ll give my conclusions first. Is Ikebana art? There are some artistic factors in it. Is Ikebana contemporary art? Over 99% of Ikebana is not contemporary art.

With regards to Ikebana and art there are a couple of notable points. First, it was proposed that Ikebana is an art form in the influential New Ikebana Declaration in 1930’s. Among many Ikebana artists who were influenced by this declaration are the head masters of the Sogetsu and Ohara schools that developed significantly after the war. Arguing that Ikebana is art helped them gain many new students. What did they mean by art at that time?

Next, Ikebana has been influenced by Western art since the Meiji restoration. How about now? Can Ikebana be part of contemporary art? What is contemporary art anyway? We need to know certain basic things to understand what contemporary art is. We will think about all those issues from now on.

The work I show this month is a commercial boxed flower that is not too expensive and easy to carry. Can we make such an Ikebana work? Not many Ikebana artists have researched this aspect. 

I would like to let you know that my article, Ikebana in English: Bibliographical essay was published in International Journal of Ikebana Studies, Vol.2. The journal is available now. Check my site for the details. https://ikebanastudies.wordpress.com              

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

Sunday, 28 June 2015

Thursday, 25 June 2015

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Ikebana Today 36

By 22:20 ,

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

Search