PLANNING EXHIBITION DESIGNS - WITHOUT A KENZAN AND OTHER TECHNIQUES

Presented by: Susan Cano

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By Mark-Ellis Bennett

Biltmore Beacon correspondent

Ikebana is the subtle art of Japanese floral arrangement. It instructs in over a thousand schools, or distinct philosophies of arrangement, some relatively modern and others with their proverbial roots in antiquity. The Asheville chapter of Ikebana International has a membership that instructs in four of these schools. Ikebana International continues to share its traditions of creativity in its various disciplines bringing nature and mankind together in this intimate way. 

Last Tuesday, the Asheville chapter invited member Susan Cano to demonstrate the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, founded in 1927, which is sculptural in form and intent, promotes a free style with abstract arrangements. This enables gardeners to use their own flowers in season. Cano began her study of Ikebana in Bangkok, Thailand, where she later served as president of her chapter. A common denominator among the seven arrangements Cano demonstrated was the shallow containers called “suiban” she used. Water inside is a part of the Sogetsu style and must be visible after the arrangement has been completed. Ikebana arrangements frequently use pin frogs, also called kenzans, to hold the flower stems in place. Cano, however, demonstrated there are other ways to achieve a vertical presence in these arrangements, but it takes both patience and great skill. 

Cano said without kenzans it becomes necessary to learn different ways of sustaining materials in the space. “Sometimes it’s a crossbar, and sometimes it’s adding an extension to the material. There are various ways. We have to manufacture our mechanics.” Filling the container with sand is considered cheating, but using nearly invisible pieces of wire or elastic to hold stems together at the top is acceptable when necessary. “Sometimes we use decorative wire in the bowl. This is very popular in Japan.” So, for her first arrangement, Cano twisted coils of gaily colored aluminum wires into a loosely knit, abstract bundle and placed it in the colorless glass bowl. This became the framework to arrange ornamental onion blossoms and orchids. For her next creation she used a yellow and white trifoil glass bowl designed by the current headmistress of the Sogetsu School. In it she placed randomly shaped blocks of clear acrylic plastic to serve as an anchor for stems of orange fern and yellow kangaroo paws. The stems were crossed to support each other, and Cano took considerable care to insure that nothing but the bowl touched the tablecloth.



Another arrangement made use of a low, wide, salmon colored container with the footprint of an isosceles triangle. Long yellow twig dogwood stems were bent so the lower part of the stem was slightly longer than the distance between the corners at the container’s base. Once inserted, this exerted sufficient tension to make the upper part of the stem stand vertically above the corner on which it rested. Other stems were gently bent and gracefully arched between corners. Small sunflowers and clusters of fresh St. John’s wort berries were added to complete this remarkable composition.

Other arrangements built around frameworks of pussy willow stems, azalea or sedum stalks were challenging and required delicate adjustments with reinforcement to keep them vertically oriented, but upon completion each piece was received with a hearty round of applause. Emilie Garoutte, also of Biltmore Forest, said she first joined the Asheville chapter in the mid-1970s, later moved to New Orleans and has now returned. “I’ve tried some of these arrangements myself, so my heart was in my throat with her. She’s very good and I’m pleased to meet her. I’ve always been intrigued by the concept that space is as important as flowers,” she said.   

Biltmore Forest Ikebana member Maggie Storey said, “It’s a real exercise in patience and determination to put one of these together. It’s hard work, but she did some fantastic things.” After finishing a seventh Ikebana, Cano shared some strategies and insights about creating and displaying exhibition pieces. The Asheville chapter of Ikebana International usually meets at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center on the on the 4^th Tuesday of each month from February through October. All of their meetings are free and open to the public. To learn more about the Asheville chapter visit their website at www.IkebanaAsheville.org