May Clay Club recap: Ikebana pots, functional and aesthetic requirements with Lynn Forbes

Thanks to Dian Magie for coordinating an awesome Clay Club with Ikebana expert Lynn Forbes! Lynn is a certified Ikebana associate master in the Ichiyo School. She provided a terrific introduction to Ikebana pots with lots of examples of what Ikebana floral artists and teachers want in pots as well as what they don't want. A few tips for potters:

Containers must be water tight. Lynn suggested testing containers for 3-5 days to ensure that they don't leak or seep.

Two general types of containers are Moribana or low bowl containers and Nageire or tall containers.

Colors that resemble colors found in nature are preferred.

Containers that are not heavy are preferred.

A matt surface may be preferred as well as a textured surface. It can be helpful for containers to have lines or ridges inside that help materials and kenzans (needle-point holders) stay in place. Edges that are straight or lean inward are helpful for the same reason.

A number of Clay Clubbers brought pots for Lynn to critique. It was really helpful to see this information applied to specific pots and how they might or might not work well for Ikebana.

This is just a small sample of the information Lynn shared! If you want to learn more about Ikebana, consider attending the demonstration and workshop that Lynn is presenting on June 22 from 10 am - 12:30 pm at the Biltmore Lake Clubhouse. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to learn about the history of this art form, observe a demonstration and perhaps a slide show and create an arrangement under the guidance of a certified Ichiyo instructor. The registration deadline is June 8. Contact Lynn at lynnforbes143@gmail.com for more information.

A couple websites to check out:

ichiyoart.com

ikebanaasheville.org

Thanks again to Dian and Lynn, to Odyssey ClayWorks for hosting us for a second month in a row, and to everyone who came!