Winter Heralds Spring – A Demonstration of Japanese Flower Arranging

The demonstration on January 16, 2016 will show the way of the flowers, combined with driftwood, haiku showing seasonal designs that celebrate the transition from Winter to Spring guided by the 5th century tradition of ikebana from Banmi Shofu Ryu. Ricardo Bansho Carrasco- iemoto or headmaster will conduct the demonstration live, assisted by Banmi Shofu sensei: Greg Banyakuyaku Aldereson, Laurel Banbara Fooks, and Monique Banrenke Noujaim.

About Banmi Shofu Ryu of Ikebana

Banmi Shofu Ryu originated from Shofu Ryu, which, like all other Ikebana schools had roots from the first school of Ikebana – Ikenobo. Shofu Ryu, the parent school of Banmi Shofu Ryu appealed to the European taste because of its clever adaptation of traditional Kado principles to new (sic) Western conditions. Its name translates to pine or living breeze, and Shofu creations express a spirit of naturalness, as effortless as the wind on the pines on a summer day; they show both fluidity of line and fidelity to the way plants grow in nature – quite contrary to what images come to mind when one considers that the founder of Shofu Ryu was a true, practicing samurai, (Oshikawa, 1939)

In evolving Shofu tradition into Banmi Shofu, Iemoto Bessie Banmi Fooks (1996) stated: "I used natural materials in simple lines provoking movement and symbols that in turn achieved serenity and tranquility; I could view the designs from any angle. They were simply the end product of a process that connected me spiritually with plant and driftwood materials. This has been my experience that began in Japan years ago. I continued to learn from Bansui Ota sensei, and transplanted what I absorbed in Japan to Hawaii, and to the many places in the world where I traveled and connected with friends who love flowers."

There are many, many schools of ikebana in the world, and Ikebana International chapters around the world. For more information about Banmi Shofu go to its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ikebana.ryu and its website: http://www.ikebanabanmishofu.com/. Banmi Shofu Ryu is also in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banmi_Shofu-ry%C5%AB. Banmi Shofu Ryu is affiliated with Ikebana International in Tokyo, http://www.ikebanahq.org/index.phpas well as Florida Chapters in Orlando-Winter Park http://ikebanaorlando.com/ and St. Petersburg, http://www.ikebanastpetersburg.com/Newsletter/Welcome.html.