Riji Malathi Pandurang welcomed Ms. Mami Teraoka, Researcher/Adviser, Culture & Information, Consulate-General of Japan to the gathering of 17 members, and set the ball rolling with important announcements. She briefed the group about the Japan trip in April where a few of the members had attended a Sogetsu workshop in Tokyo with Master Instructor Sumide. Ma'am also spoke about the exhibition held earlier this year in March and the good experiences from the 5-day event.

New members Zeenath Kadir, Christine Arati Fernando, and Ragini Prakash were welcomed.

The workshop theme of the day was "Mass." Senseis Ambika Chandrasekar and Molly Cherian presented beautiful, innovative demos on the day's theme.

Demo by Sensei Ambika

Sensei Ambika started the workshop with an intricate arrangement using circular mass, created from shredded paper. She demonstrated a massed theme by arranging the white artificial "flowers" with deep pink carnations in a repurposed brown bottle. The end result was a beautiful and aesthetic presentation that depicted mass in a harmonized line.

Sensei Ambika then demonstrated a vibrant arrangement in morimono with tomatoes, lemons, and ladies finger. The creation was unique and was complemented by the simplicity of the vase. Sensei Ambika remembered Sensei Janaki in her choice of glass vase, that sensei Janaki had gifted to Sensei Malathi. The arrangement beautifully demonstrated mass in a vertical format, topped off with a bunch of ladies finger.                                                                            

  

Demo by Sensei Molly Cherian

Sensei Molly Cherian then demonstrated two arrangements based on the theme of the day.

                                  

Arrangement with bunches of Australian equisetifolia and aralia leaves with ixora flowers in ceramic vases

The first was a profusion of massed greenery offset by yellow and red ixora flowers. The arrangement was stunning in its use of vibrant colours, with the strategic bunching of leaves and flowers to give the arrangement a sense of bountiful beauty.  

Arrangement with Buddha Belly bamboo and hydrangea flowers in a ceramic container

The second arrangement was created without a kenzan and used fresh and dry materials with different textures. The many lines of Buddha belly bamboo branches were used to create mass while the natural mass of hydrangeas added volume. The ceramic container with no kenzan added to the natural and minimalistic appearance.     

After the demos, the floor was open to the members to work on their arrangements. Refreshments sponsored by Senseis Divya, Prerana, Meenu, and Trishala were a welcome finale to the camaraderie and good cheer enjoyed by this closely-knit group of Ikebana enthusiasts.

Arrangements by Members

Arrangement by Sensei Meenu Materials: Dried banana leaves, chrysanthemum flowers in a ceramic vase Arrangement by Sensei Chitra Rajan Materials: Dried lemonia flowers,  tree fern, chrysanthemums,  and gerberas in a  ceramic vase Arrangement by Chelvi Materials: Two types of dracena  with pink chrysanthemums in a ceramic nageire container Arrangement by Mami Teraoka Materials: Green chrysanthemums  in a ceramic container Arrangement by Sensei Dalley Materials: Gerberas, crinium lily,  and mandarin orange in a  ceramic container with  metallic frame Arrangement by Sensei Pushkala Materials: Chrysanthemums to express mass and  Argyreia nervosa vine  to represent line also  made to a mass	Arrangement by Sensei Prerana Materials: Air-dried corn husk and  red berries in a fiberglass container Arrangement by Sensei Trishala Materials: Aralia leaves with a bunch of chrysanthemums in two ceramic vases Arrangement by Sensei Divya Materials: Garden leaves and  sunflower in a moribana container Arrangement by Sensei Bhuvana Materials: Ixora branches and yellow chrysanthemums in a ceramic container Arrangement by Ambikai Materials: Bunches of gerbera flowers  and cypress leaves in a ceramic container Arrangement by Susan Materials: Bunches of gerberas  and aspidistra leaves  in a metal container

        

   

Annual Exhibition 2025

All the members eagerly look forward to displaying their creativity at the Annual Exhibition. The process of planning and executing is always very exciting. This year our annual exhibition entitled “Ikebana And Us” was held from March 27 to March 31 at Lalit Kala Academi. The venue was prepared and the arrangements were made by the enthusiastic members  the day before the exhibition was inaugurated. 

The exhibition was inaugurated on March 27 by the Japanese Consul-General Takahashi Moneo who was accompanied by his wife Ms. Takahashi Mitsu gracefully draped in a saree. 

Nancy Secrest, the national secretary of the American section of the Theosophical Society was present too. The other distinguished guests were Maria Artamma, Mr and Mrs. M.R. Ranganathan, Mr. And Mrs. C. Sriram, Mr. Gopinath, Mrs. And Mr. Sivan Kumar  and Mr. Yogesh. 

The guests were introduced by Sensei Chitra Thiagarajan. Vote of thanks was delivered by Sensei Molly Cherian. 

A lot of planning had been done this time to organise our Annual Exhibition in a little different way. We decided to divide our arrangements into five different sections – 

1. Pond Scene

2. Chennai Foliage 

3. Morimono 

4. Unusual Container

5. Unusual Materials

Besides these, there were the bigger floor arrangements by the STA members.

We had free workshops conducted by our members with the aim to inspire and educate people to connect with nature and express themselves through shop the creative art of ikebana. We received a number of visitors both for the exhibition and the workshops.

On the first day “Origami with Leaves” was conducted by Mr. Shankar. The attendees enjoyed learning to make birds and other decorative items with leaves.

The next workshop was “Sketching with Dots, Lines, curved and straight”. Our members Bhuvana Shivshankaran, Sensei Meenakshi Sarin and Shylaja Theetharappan introduced the art of floor kolam at this workshop.

Senseis Ambika Chandrasekar, Molly Cherian, Prerana Mehta Meenakshi Sarin, Chitra Thiagarajan, Dr. Pushkala K. And Trishala Vaishnav conducted four workshops to introduce Sogetsu Ikebana to the people enrolled.

Our five day exhibition not only brought this beautiful art to more and more people, it  did help the members connect with each other and build relationships as well. 

   

Our April meeting was held on the 5 Th of April 2025 at ABK with 14 members in attendance.

Our Chairperson Mrs Malathi Pandurang introduced Mrs Sujata Saravanan , consultant and therapist at Krishnamachari Yoga Mandiram to speak to us on Health and Physical fitness in Mindful wellness.

Mrs Sujata Saravanan stressed on the benefits of meditation in our lives.

After the meeting some of our members got together at a restaurant for a happy meal.

Five of our members including our Chairperson attended the Ikebana internationa convention in Kyoto.

Our members Mrs Molly Cherian, Mrs Bhuvana Sivashankaran and Mrs Chelvi Gopinath attended a workshop  at the Sogetsu  HQ in Tokyo.