Ohara Ikebana Exhibition March 26, 2011

What distinguishes ikebana from other approaches to flower arrangement is its asymmetrical form and the use of "empty" space as essential features of the composition. A sense of harmony among the materials, the container, and the setting is also crucial. Ikebana shares these aesthetic characteristics with traditional Japanese paintings, gardens, architecture, and design. Members of the Portland Chapter of the Ohara School of Ikebana set the tone for early spring with an array of exquisite designs on display in the Garden Pavilion. The school is noted for developing the moribana style, which broke with the more formal vertical style of the past to create new horizontal "landscape" arrangements, with flowers "heaped" (moru) in lower platelike containers expressing the spirit of a time of great transition in Japan. Photo credit: Jonathan Ley