The Ikebana International Manila Chapter 108 held its annual Ikebana exhibit at the second floor of UpTown Mall in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, on September 29-30. The by-invitation only activity was opened with Shigehiro Matsuda, First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan, as guest of honor. He represented Madame Yuko Koshikawa.
Christina Fenix-Abalos, president of the Ikebana International Manila Chapter 108 said the exhibit is a yearly activity of the organization required by the headquarters in Japan.
Aptly themed, PAPEL (paper), the exhibit was opened to the public the following day. Guests and visitors viewed arrangements that incorporated the exhibit’s theme. An Ikebana demonstration was also held with Ikebana teachers Marc Tomas, Margot Perez and Evangeline Cheng showing the audience the art of arranging flowers under the Sogetsu school.
Carissa Singson with her arrangement
One of the exhibitors, Carissa R. Singson is an Ikebana teacher who has been teaching for almost 10 years. “I was a banker for 20 years,” she said. She wanted to do something really different from banking. She has always liked flowers and took up first the western style of flower arranging when she was in her 20s before going into Ikebana. Her arrangement is titled “Calachuchi,” that utilized the stem and leaves of the calachuchi plant and wrapped with Japanese paper painted with calachuchi flowers.
Harold Anopol with his arrangement
Harold Anopol, another exhibitor, called his arrangement “Hope.” It is the first of three arrangements he will be donating next month for the benefit of Ukraine. The roses used in his Hope arrangement are blue and yellow—colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Marc Tomas with his arrangement
A mechanical engineer by profession, Marc Tomas pursued Ikebana because it cultivates and releases his creativity. “It has something to do with my hands and I’m so interested in the flow of Ikebana. I like the lines.” He admitted at first it was just about the plant, flowers. But realized that the Ikebana that he knows, the Sogetsu, is more than that.
Ikebana, the Japanese ancient art of floral arrangement, dates back to the 13th century. Three schools of Ikebana are popular in the Philippines namely: Ikenobo, Sogetsu and Ohara.
