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Empowered FLOWERS

Naples Chapter of Ikebana International celebrates 50 Years of ‘Friendship Through Flowers’



Chapter Members of the Naples work on floral designs at their meeting in December.

Members of the Naples Chapter work on floral designs at their meeting in December.

Around me, ikebana enthusiasts were twisting leaves into artful knots and bending plant stems into elegant, angular shapes. Some stared thoughtfully at the compositions emerging in front of them, looking for the perfect spot to place the graceful anthurium blooms they held in their hands. Meanwhile, I was trying to staple a broad, flat leaf to itself and haplessly stuffing bits of chopped-off greenery into floral foam. Though I can’t say I was a natural on my first try at ikebana, it was fun trying to coax some beauty out of a few handfuls of plant material and a simple container. It was early December, and I was attending the monthly meeting of Ikebana International Naples Chapter #160, a group of about 80 Southwest Florida devotees of Japanese flower arranging. We were immersed in a hands-on workshop activity to get in the spirit of this centuries-old form of expression.

“We bond over flowers. We create friendships. That’s our motto — friendship through flowers,” says Naples Chapter president Margery Metzler, explaining the organization’s reason for being. “So we work together. We harmonize with our flowers. Japanese floral design is what brings us together and forms our friendships. And the love of nature, I think, bonds us,” she adds.

A floral design by Martha Dykman, honorary member of Ikebana International Naples Chapter #160 for 2022- 23. A practitioner of Sogetsu, her arrangement illustrates the principles of balance, harmony and movement that ikebana designers seek to express. The Chapter is emphasizing this as the “signature image” for its 50th anniversary events. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 / COURTESY PHOTO

A floral design by Martha Dykman, honorary member of Ikebana International Naples Chapter #160 for 2022- 23. A practitioner of Sogetsu, her arrangement illustrates the principles of balance, harmony and movement that ikebana designers seek to express. The Chapter is emphasizing this as the “signature image” for its 50th anniversary events. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 / COURTESY PHOTO

The Naples Chapter is celebrating its 50th anniversary during the 2022-23 season, and its members hope to bring more awareness of their refined yet accessible art form to the public. Ranging from monthly meetings in season to a three-day exhibition at the Naples Botanical Garden in February, there are plenty of opportunities coming up to become better acquainted with this talented group of plant designers.

Newspaper clippings from the early 1970s chronicle the birth of the Naples group. Its founders began meeting even before their budding group was officially chartered as a chapter of Ikebana International in September 1972. The parent organization, Ikebana International, was formed in 1956 to unite people around the globe through a shared love of nature and appreciation for the art of ikebana. Currently, about 7,000 individuals from 44 different countries belong to the worldwide organization. There are 138 chapters, six of them in Florida.

The five founding members of Naples Chapter #160, circa 1971. Front row, left to right: Mrs. David McKenzie, Mrs. James Rhodes, Mrs. A. B. Sandquist. Back row, left to right: Mrs. William MacLeon, Mrs. Gordon Henry. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 ? COURTESY PHOTO

The five founding members of Naples Chapter #160, circa 1971. Front row, left to right: Mrs. David McKenzie, Mrs. James Rhodes, Mrs. A. B. Sandquist. Back row, left to right: Mrs. William MacLeon, Mrs. Gordon Henry. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 ? COURTESY PHOTO

“When people hear the word ikebana, they think tradition,” says Nelsa Bross, the Naples Chapter’s social media coordinator. “And it’s true. But even though it is a tradition that is 600 years old, we consider it now to be a modern art form where we can bring nature from the outdoors indoors in a modern design. It brings harmony to people. So many of us spend our days indoors — we work or we’re at school. So our designs are created to bring harmony in people’s lives between what’s happening outside and inside. It creates the harmony we all need because we’re in stressful times.”

Way of the Flower

The Japanese word ikebana is often translated as “living flowers.” A related term, kado, means “the way of the flower.” Influenced by Buddhist thought, Ikebana arrangements are generally spare and minimal in style, with an emphasis on following the lines of the plant materials. The practitioner is supposed to discover the form of the arrangement by working with nature rather than against it. “The Japanese aesthetic is very earthy, simple and clean,” notes Martha Dykman, the Naples Chapter’s honorary member for 2022-23.

METZLER

METZLER

Today, most ikebana practitioners are women. But for much of its history, ikebana was strictly a male pursuit. During the 6th century, when Chinese missionaries brought Buddhism to Japan, the custom of decorating temple altars with leaves and flowers came with them. Over the centuries that followed, Buddhist monks in Japan began to create more structured and symbolic floral arrangements to contemplate in sacred spaces. By the early 17th century, elite members of Japanese society such as samurai warriors took up the delicate practice of flower arranging to cleanse their minds before and after battle.

Ikebana members Sudie Minamyer, Marcia Connors and Marcia Borel at the organization’s 2022 exhibit at the Naples Botanical Garden. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 / COURTESY PHOTO

Ikebana members Sudie Minamyer, Marcia Connors and Marcia Borel at the organization’s 2022 exhibit at the Naples Botanical Garden. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 / COURTESY PHOTO

“I think now, in our day and age, we’d think that was perhaps a mental health exercise for people who were doing really awful things,” says Naples Chapter member a Borel with a laugh. “Then, during a certain period, ikebana was adopted into the home and placed in niches called tokonoma. The closest comparison we’d have in our world is to call it an altar in our home. It’s a place where people remember and honor their ancestors, reflect on the changes of seasons, and hang scrolls, which are a beautiful piece of art but also speak a philosophy or an idea.” It was not until the later part of the 19th century that young women in Japan were allowed to study ikebana as part of their formal education, she explains.

Today, there are literally thousands of schools of ikebana teaching different approaches. Four major schools, each with its own rules and precepts, are represented in the Naples Chapter. Ikenobo is the oldest and most formal style; its arrangements are usually placed in tall vases and are vertically oriented. Ohara uses an abundance of flowers and is known for horizontal or “landscape” arrangements. Sogetsu is the most modern and allows for the incorporation of man-made and unusual components. Its founder has been called “the Picasso of flowers.” Kado Sensho Ikenobo, Metzler’s school, uses only natural materials and emphasizes a close relationship between the flowers and the form of the container.

Nelsa Bross, the social media coordinator for Naples Chapter #160, explains how she created the design of her ikebana arrangement at the group’s December meeting. JANICE PAINE / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Nelsa Bross, the social media coordinator for Naples Chapter #160, explains how she created the design of her ikebana arrangement at the group’s December meeting. JANICE PAINE / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Tokyo-born Kaoru Sweet has been a member of Chapter #160 for more than 10 years, and a teacher of Ohara for three decades. She says she was an atypical student of Ikebana, which she studied for six or seven years in Japan. “I’m very athletic. I was an athlete growing up. I was a tennis player. I came to the U.S. on a tennis scholarship. Growing up, I was never interested in anything Japanese society considers feminine. Ikebana is sort of considered part of the bridal training, along with cooking, tea ceremony, calligraphy, things like that.” But she recalls, “my mom dragged me to a class, and I was surprised at how much I liked it.”

Long-time member Martha Dykman shows part of her collection of ikebana containers. “I like things of the earth,” she says. “I like clay. I like art in different shapes. Even before I ever thought of doing Ikebana, I was buying pottery.” JANICE PAINE / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Long-time member Martha Dykman shows part of her collection of ikebana containers. “I like things of the earth,” she says. “I like clay. I like art in different shapes. Even before I ever thought of doing Ikebana, I was buying pottery.” JANICE PAINE / FLORIDA WEEKLY

As she became more proficient in ikebana, Mrs. Sweet realized she enjoys its relaxing quality. “I tell people it’s like yoga for your mind,” she says. “You focus on something that’s beautiful that’s in front of you. It’s sort of meditative to me. When I’m doing Ikebana, I sit in one place, and I don’t think about anything else. It’s very calming, in a sense.” Her elegant arrangements intersperse different textures and colors, with unusual twisting and curving branches tracing lines in the air.

For Mrs. Dykman, ikebana is “a way to adore plant material. You fall in love with what you can do, the shape of it.” She’s been a member of Chapter 160 for 28 years and her celebratory 50th anniversary arrangement seems to burst out of its ceramic container with joyous red and yellow blooms. Burgundy-painted stems of bamboo push outward like rays of energy.

An arrangement by Kaoru (Kay) Sweet, who teaches Ohara ikebana. COURTESY KAORU SWEET / COURTESY PHOTO

An arrangement by Kaoru (Kay) Sweet, who teaches Ohara ikebana. COURTESY KAORU SWEET / COURTESY PHOTO

She says the camaraderie of the organization is appealing. “It’s such a nice group because we don’t compete. We don’t give prizes. You make an arrangement on your level. It’s like if you’re an artist, it’s your spirit. So you shouldn’t be judged on your spirit. Now, you can learn things and you can be critiqued. People can tell you how to make it better or more interesting or more in an Asian style. But nobody criticizes.”

Mrs. Borel, who practices Sogetsu, began studying ikebana as a way to better understand the history and culture of Japan when her husband’s career took her family there for an extended period in the 1990s. But it became something more than an academic pursuit for her. “It grew with me,” she muses. “It gave me a voice to express ideas, emotions, movement. And I have to say, it’s a lifelong learning. It still grows with me. I have new ideas and new thoughts of what I want to say [through ikebana]. I didn’t expect this at this time of life. I find it meaningful to try to keep the creative process engaged in my heart and in my mind.”

This arrangement is by Kaoru (Kay) Sweet, who teaches Ohara style ikebana. COURTESY KAORU SWEET / COURTESY PHOTO

This arrangement is by Kaoru (Kay) Sweet, who teaches Ohara style ikebana. COURTESY KAORU SWEET / COURTESY PHOTO

Where Members Shine

The marquee event of the year for the Naples Chapter is its annual exhibition. This year, it will be held at the Naples Botanical Garden from February 10 through 12. All activities are free with Garden admission. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 10 with a Japanese tea ceremony performed by Mrs. Metzler.

Ikebana demonstrations will be presented daily in the morning, and a children’s activity table will operate from 10 a.m. to noon each day. There, youngsters can create their own ikebana-style arrangements using greenery harvested from the Garden. Meanwhile, visitors are welcome to experience a sprawling display of ikebana floral designs made by members of Chapter #160 in Kapnick Hall, open all day long. “This is where our members come to shine,” Mrs. Metzler says with a smile.

Freestyle floral design by Margy Metzler, the highest ranking sensei (or teacher) of Kado Sensho Ikenobo in the United States. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 / COURTESY PHOTO

Freestyle floral design by Margy Metzler, the highest ranking sensei (or teacher) of Kado Sensho Ikenobo in the United States. IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL NAPLES CHAPTER #160 / COURTESY PHOTO

“There will be a Ginza — our marketplace —where you can buy containers for ikebana, kenzans (the spiky ‘frogs’ upon which flowers are fixed in place), flowers, clippers and scissors, all the tools required in order to make a beautiful design,” she continues. Several local vendors will be selling handmade pottery, too. “You can buy all the supplies you need, sign up for a lesson, and when you leave that day, you have everything you need to go forth and flower!”

Artful Arrangements

Later in the month, Ikebana members will continue their collaboration with the Naples Art District (NAD). From February 23 to 25, a dozen or more ikebanists will take part in NAD’s second annual “Artful Arrangements.” Free and open to the public, this event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Visitors are invited to roam artists’ studios and galleries to see how professional floral designers, Naples Garden Club members and Ikebana designers interpret the work of NAD artists in flowers. It’s loads of fun to discover the diversity and talent of district artists while following a trail of floral arrangements around the neighborhood, which is located off Pine Ridge and Airport roads in North Naples. ¦

Members of Naples Chapter #160, Marcia Borel, left, and Kathleen Hawryluk, facilitate an ikebana workshop in December. COURTESY KAORU SWEET / COURTESY PHOTO

Members of Naples Chapter #160, Marcia Borel, left, and Kathleen Hawryluk, facilitate an ikebana workshop in December. COURTESY KAORU SWEET / COURTESY PHOTO

— Janice T. Paine is a Naples-based freelance writer about art

In the KNOW

Naples Chapter #160:

www.ikebananaples.com

ikebananaples@gmail.com

“Celebrating 50 Years of Friendship Through Flowers: A Japanese Floral Art Exhibit”

Feb. 10-12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Naples Botanical Garden

4820 Bayshore Dr., Naples

239-643-7275

Garden admission: $25 adult; $10 children ages 4-17; children 3 and under free; members free.

“Artful Arrangements”

Naples Art District

Feb. 23-25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Free public viewing in artist’s studios

www.naplesartdistrict.com

naplesartdistrict@gmail.com

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