> 2011 holiday season

This year I am not hosting a Christmas Party because I'm 7 month pregnant right now but I decided to decorate the house with some sort of flower arrangements to add festivity.
Trying not to spend too much on flowers, i used silver painted birch branches as a main material with some Christmas ornaments. If I could find white dendrobium instead of mums that would've been perfect.

Tulips were on sale this week at Whole Foods, so i bought 3 bunches.
I love how they move freely to the direction of the sun. Together with their leaves, that curvy lines create the interesting rhythm and mood.

Right after Thanksgivings, we stayed in Manhattan one night.
This giant hanging ornament was very pretty in 5th avenue.

halloween arrangement

I haven't had a chance to do ikebana so long, I feel like I am forgetting about the basics.
This is the variation No.4 Upright style.

I checked my daily schedule if I can managed to have even one day to practice ikebana in our busy life, but i don't know, it would be hard.... I guess it will be a good practice to make arrangement in a short period of time though. But I kind of like the therapeutic quality of ikebana, when I can completely focus my attentions to flowers and allow myself forgetting everything else.

My intention was to make a Halloween arrangement, but it's not so spooky.

> Ikebana with an Ice Container

Sunday June 26, 2011

Mrs. Fumiko Allinder's flower class visited Okamoto Studio in Long Island City for ice container workshop. Mr. Okamoto is a very talented and well-known ice sculptor who works for a big client like Tiffany, Channel, and NBC etc. in New York. (Please check out his website. His work is amazing!!!)

It was my first time to make something out of ice.
First we draw a design of the container. Then, Mr. Okamoto shaped the ice with his chainsaw according to our designs. After that, we started adding textures on the surface or curving lines to create different effects.

Ice was melting as we work so every minute it was slightly changing how it looked. In a way, it's a nostalgic process...
Flower arranging is a same kind of art that it changes its shape as the time goes by but it's a much slower pace compare to the ice sculpting. You can't worry about the detail design because it smooths out in a few minutes anyway. I learned you have to make deep and clear cuts or lines to create a definition on the ice.

Few of my friends' works can be viewed in here.

Mr. Okamoto's tools..











Work in progress...











Mr. Okamoto using chainsaw

> Haran, Aucuba, & Rose

Haran (aspidistra) looked so beautiful that they turned their colors from green to bright yellow. I think they were left in a bucket for few weeks. I find it's so fascinating as they coming close to die, once again they shine with this bright yellow. I wish I could shine like that again when I'm coming close to my death.

Because they were not completely dried yet, I could make shapes in anyway I wanted.

ハランがグリーンから何とも鮮やかな黄色に変化していてとても綺麗でした。何週間かバケツに置き去りにされていたものと思われます。枯れて死が近づいているにもかかわらず、ここでもう一度と言わんばかりに美しい黄色で輝くその姿、とてもすごいなと思います。私も死が近づいた頃そんな風に輝いていたいものです(o^^o)

完璧にまだドライになっていなかったので、すきな形に作る事ができました。

> Brooklyn Sakura Matsuri 2011

This year i used dried palm tree parts as a main material. They almost looked like a drift wood, inside was dark brown and outside had smooth and beautifully preserved stripes. If you try to buy them in 28th street, they would've cost fortune! But the ones i used were actually from my mother-in-low Mary Ellen, she brought them to me all the way from Florida! She said she knew i would love them and use them for Ikebana when she saw them in the park where she was having a walk. Well, you were right Mary Ellen. I loved them. Those two pieces inspired me to create this work.

A lot of people came to see our ikebana arrangements this year as well. I hope everyone who visited enjoyed our show and get inspired by the beauty of Ikebana.

Thank you so much Sensei (Mrs. Allinder) for this wonderful opportunity to exhibit.
Thank you Mary Ellen for supporting my ikebana creation.
and Thank you my husband William for taking care of Layla while i was gone for 4 days to do this event. I really appreciate your support and understanding. You are the super daddy and husband! I love you so much.


By Mrs. Allinder
By Jin
By Mrs. Ikura
By Mika
By Mrs. Abe
By Lily
By Casey
By Maye
By Catharine
By Sue

Happy Birthday Amelia!

{ arrangement in a kitchen }

{ in a living room }

{ Amelia's mom made this cake!! }

I made some flower arrangement for my friend Aru's daughter Amelia's birthday party.
She turned 1 year old.
I met Aru through the new mom's meeting group in Greenwich. Since then, we've been a good friend and having playdates in each others house sometimes.
I am so happy that I could be a part of Amelia's big day!
Happy birthday sweet Amelia! Have a wonderful day!

お友達のアルさんの娘アメリアちゃんのお誕生会に飾る花のアレンジメントを作りました。
アメリアちゃん、１歳になりました。
アルさんとはグリニッチにある新米ママの会で知り合ったまま友です。
時々お互いの家でお遊び会をしたりして、仲良くしてもらっています。
アメリアちゃんの大切な日のパーティーでのアレンジメントを担当できてとてもうれしいです。アメリアちゃんお誕生日おめでとう！楽しいパーティーを！

Happy Birthday Layla!!!

-birthday girl is....exhausted :)



-theme color was lemon yellow, lavender and silver.

- arrangement at the entrance. Bunnies are welcoming guests.

March 18th was my little girl Layla's 1 year old birthday!
We invited just family near us this time and had a big party for her.
She got lots of toys and cute clothes.

３月１８日は娘の１歳のお誕生日でした(o^^o)
近くに住む家族を呼んで、盛大にパーティーをしました。
１歳はやっぱり重要！ですよね。なので今回は結構張り切って準備しました。
でも我が家ではまずテーブルを彩る『花』がなんといってもプライオリティー！料理は二の次でございます（汗）

レモンイエローと、ラベンダー、シルバーを中心にデコレーションしました。
母の努力をレイラは覚えていてはくれないのですよね。。。
健康に育ってくれていてとてもうれしいです。

Spring Admiration

I have to say French Pussy willow is one of my favorite materials to work with. It is very flexible to create the shapes and I love its color. It is amazing how their fine lines can add graceful but yet dynamic dimension to the arrangement.

The left side branches are "yoshino" cherry tree. I love their modest beauty.
I can't wait to see them bloom!
Today's arrangement expresses the admiration for the spring.

フレンチネコヤナギは大好きな花材の一つです。
よく曲がって形をつけやすいですし、色も大好きです。
こんなに細い線でも、可憐でかつダイナミックに奥行きを出せるのがすごいところです。

左側の枝物はソメイヨシノです。なんとも奥ゆかしいその美しさがすきです。
早く咲いてほしい！
春の訪れを心待ちにする気持ちを表現してみました。伝わりましたか？

Amarilis & Willow

I wish I have containers like my sensei does.

Choosing a right container is a big part of your Ikebana design.

I think it has a nice balance as a whole.

I made this arrangement as I was thinking of my high school friends father who recently past away.

Christmas Arrangement

This was the last arrangement I made at sensei's class in 2010.
Theme is... Christmas!! in Japanese style i suppose.

My life has been very busy with Layla since March, but with my husband and my family members big support, i managed to pursue my passion to make "flower arrangements" whenever i had a chance. I am very thankful for that.

As far as 2011 goes, I would like to improve my skills in flower arrangement in general but most importantly, continue to thrive to find "my flower," my very own way of expression through flowers. I hope i can show some interesting arrangements this year!