Delicate art celebrated

JANELLE SAFFIN: Delicate art of Ikebana recognised in this week’s column

AN ELEGANT ART: Ikebana International Lismore Chapter No. 32 members Glenda Schofield and Kaye Pearson with Lismore MP Janelle Saffin. Photo: Janelle Saffin

A TALENTED group of Northern Rivers women have been devoted to Ikebana – more an art form than flower arranging – for the past 60 years and are about to celebrate that milestone with an exhibition and luncheon demonstration.

Ikebana International Lismore Chapter No. 32 Incorporated will mark its 60th Birthday at Spinnakers Restaurant, Ballina RSL Club, from 10.30am on Tuesday, March 24 2020.

A highlight of the day will be a Sogetsu demonstration by the esteemed Sydney-based Ikebana master Yoshiro Umemura.

Lismore chapter president Kaye Pearson and treasurer and publicity officer Glenda Schofield recently visited my office and brought in two exquisite Nigera arrangements they had created.

Their chapter was established by well-known Lismore florist, the late Dorothy Edwards, who was inspired by a feature article in The Australian Women’s Weekly in the 1960s on how the Japanese art was introduced to the west.

It was the American officers’ wives who practised Ikebana as a way of forging ‘friendship through flowers’ during the Allied Occupation of Japan in the years immediately after World War Two.

Kaye and Glenda remember Dorothy as being absolutely dedicated to Ikebana and to teaching the intricacies of the art to other local women through lessons conducted over half a century.

“Two of Dorothy’s original members from 1960 – Bonnie Kerkenezov and Brenda Carmichael – are still alive and they would be so proud Chapter No. 32 has reached its 60th anniversary,” they said.

“The 1960s was the decade for fads but Ikebana has stood the test of time and we have about 14 members who meet on a regular basis.

“The chapter has held many exhibitions featuring Japanese and Australian masters, and made many donations to worthwhile local charities.”

Ikebana master, the late Norman Sparnon OAM, who held the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun, also was a great inspiration to chapter members from its inception until his death in the mid-1990s.

Current master Yoshiro Umemura is a leading exponent of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, founded by Sofu Teshigahara in 1927.

The March 24 exhibition opens at 10.30am, followed by Yoshiro’s demonstration at 11.30am and then the luncheon from 1pm.

Tickets are $65 per person and can be booked at www.trybooking.com/537957.

For more information contact Kaye on 0421 909 937 or Glenda on 0427 593 400. New members are always welcome.

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