Throughout the Covid pandemic the practice of ikebana for many people has been sporadic at best or for many, on hold, as lessons and teachers have been hard to access other than via the internet. I’ve seen many become disengaged from their practice and let their “Ikebana muscles” atrophy. With this in mind in 2022 I wanted to inspire people to get back into it in a way that was both fun and explored various themes in more detail and depth. My response to this opportunity was to start the #monthlyikebanachallenge. January slid by without a blink but by February I was ready to issue that first challenge. The result was (Fabulously) #fruityfebruary!!
While only a handful of other ikebana artists both locally and from around the world took up the challenge it was enough that I was inspired to keep the monthly challenges coming. The challenge for March was #massivemarchmadness. Where february had been about arranging with fruit, March was all about working with mass. Happily the response from ikebana artists around the world continued to grow with a few more participants this time around which was a great delight.
We are now at the very beginning of April and the #monthlyikebanachallenge this time around is #Aprilinyourarea where its all about using locally sourced materials and trying not to use too much that is imported or bought. Re-use, recycle and make innovative use of whats around you. An alternative topic for those in Australia is to try out #Aussieaussieapril and use Australian native materials wherever possible. So it promises to be an interesting month ahead. Keep checking back for more posts about the challenges as they unfold as well as to read about things learned in the process!
Read on to the next blog posts for more on each of the monthly ikebana challenges and the learnings that resulted.