Audrey Charlton & Gayle Klaybor
5 Saturdays. January 30, February 6,, 13, 27 and March 6.
10 am - Noon. Taught by Sekkei Audrey Charlton & Jika Gayle Klaybor.
This five-week course explores the relationship between Ikebana—the Japanese art of arranging flowers—and Buddhist ways of understanding life. Buddhist concepts become lenses through which participants can experience flowers, nature, beauty, change, relationships, and themselves-an opportunity to see the natural world more clearly and deeply.
Class 1: Beginner’s Mind: the history and philosophy of Ikebana; the Ikenobo School
Class 2: Emptiness/Interconnectedness: basics of Ikebana design such as space and form; the Sogetsu school
Class 3: Impermanence: learning line, the “life of the flower”, use of dried materials, incorporating branches and sticks
Class 4: Mindfulness/Concentration: designing harmonious arrangements using leaves
Class 5: Relative and Ultimate: putting it all together, use of found materials and flowers
Classes begin with a period of meditation followed by a presentation and instruction. Every participant will create a flower arrangement in each class.
$185 includes a $60 materials fee which will provide a container, kenzan and flowers for each class. The class is limited to 16 participants.
$145 HZC member includes a $60 materials fee as above.
Sekkei Audrey Charlton began practicing Ikebana in 2015 after she moved to Texas. She currently holds teaching certificates in two schools, Ikenobo and Sogetsu. Audrey is a cultural anthropologist and, in another life, an organizational consultant in New York City. Her dharma name means Snow Wisdom.
Jika Gayle Klaybor is a long time Zen practitioner at Houston Zen Center and serves as Co-Tanto. She began providing flower arrangements for the Zen Center in 2013 and began her formal Ikebana education in 2015. Gayle is a social worker and psychotherapist. Her dharma name means Earth Song.
