LIGHT AND SHADOWS

Presented by: Libby Campbell 

Libby Campbell, Master of the Ichyio School, gave an excellent program using built installations as the base for her very intriguing designs. Focusing on found materials and artistic composition values, such as textured surfaces, light and shadow, color, shape, line, depth and dimension, she created three very strong environments. Libby's program was as fascinating as it was creative.   

After you enjoy the photos, please read the article below writted by Mark-Ellis Bennet, correspondent for the Biltmore Beacon.

To see the whole photo, click on any image to launch the slideshow.  Then place your cursor over photo, then click on arrow to start.  Then move your cursor away from the photo screen to remove arrows and enjoy the slideshow.   

Ikebana Asheville

by: Mark-Ellis Bennett

Biltmore Beacon correspondent

The Asheville chapter of Ikebana International invited member Elizabeth Campbell to demonstrate one of the four specific styles of Japanese flower arrangement they teach. According to their website, “The Ichiyo School of Ikebana pursues a style of flower arranging that harmonizes with the various spaces in our living environments using a simplified and systematic method.” This enables gardeners to use their own flowers in season.

Campbell assembled three arrangements for an attentive crowd and said she particularly enjoys using local botanicals harvested at or near her home. Her approach combines a focus on harmony between each creation and its background, and a sensitivity to how ambient light will affect its appearance. Campbell said that an illustration in a book was the inspiration for the background she created for her first arrangement. “In a Japanese room they had taken a vine and split one wall all the way down at a horizontal angle. They painted the lower part about two shades darker than the top part. I always loved that concept.”

Anchored in ceramic pottery, she experimented with how sprigs of forsythia and pussy willow could best echo the diagonal line of a gently twisted branch she had placed across a paper background. As she manually demonstrated how changing the direction of the source of light subtly affected the appearance of the finished arrangement the audience enthusiastically applauded. A second arrangement employed a set of three white frames, vertically standing one in front of the other to provide an actual illusion of depth. A combination of dark thorny sticks and bright purple chrysanthemum blossoms offered a stimulating contrast to one another. The third arrangement was built around a large, rusty whoop mounted on a driftwood base. The addition of lavender colored orchids, fern fronds and dog hobble with a paneled background completed the showpiece.  

After the presentation, chapter president Patti Quinn Hill announced Ikebana “Friendship through Flowers” workshops to be scheduled on days between their regularly monthly demonstrations. The next one, suitable for beginners, will be April 12^th at 10:00 a.m. Participants are expected to bring a container, and asked to pay $15.00 for instruction and all other materials. Ikebana member Jeanne Morgan said, “Anytime you can learn something that has to do with another culture it enhances your understanding of the world. I think this is a wonderful way to do so.”  

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(Ikebana Asheville continued) 

In addition to floral arrangements, Ikebana member Elda Brown makes earrings fashioned from colorful Japanese washi paper, jewelers resin and silver findings. Washi literally translates as handmade paper. “The designs really popped for me. The resin enhanced the colors and magnifies the washi paper patterns too. "

Biltmore Lake mixed media artist Louise Glickman who also uses washi paper said the miniature designs on the paper allow Brown to bring color into her jewelry in a most unusual way. Among other things, Glickman makes Japanese influenced garden mosaics. “I’ve just done one full of beautiful roses and zinnia blossoms and I’m working on another one incorporating a Japanese fan with kimono designs.”

The Beacon wanted to find out what specifically draws these women to the Japanese style and designs. Brown said one of the things that impressed her was the use of open or negative space. “It’s made an impact on my designs. Even selecting the pieces of washi paper to use, I kept the Ikebana experience in mind in a way that I had never done before. It’s changed my use of color because the Japanese use many different color combinations than Western culture doesn’t.”

Glickman describes herself as previously having a “Type A” personality who ran several different businesses mostly from New Orleans. She said her training and background were in fashion design, marketing and public relations. “When I came to Western North Carolina I decided that I wanted to get back to working in an art studio. I used Ikebana to go from a complex lifestyle to a quiet and meditative life in a studio. I embraced Ikebana, and I’m now in my fifth year of study. I learned not only to simplify my designs, but to also simplify my life, and it has enabled me to see them both differently,” she said.

The Asheville chapter meets on the 4^th Tuesday from February through October, usually in the auditorium at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Meetings are free and open to the public, but membership brings a bundle of additional privileges. For more information visit them online at www.IkebanaAsheville.org.

Contact Bennett at: MBennett@BiltmoreBeacon.com    

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