Apologies for the absence of posts – you know how it can be. Although it can be a challenge, I do enjoy and miss writing.
Recently (a couple of days ago), I stumbled across the fascinating world of “freakebana” – a new wave/movement of progressive/experimental/radical botanical art. I found the #freakebana hashtag on Instagram after viewing a recent post by Australian artist @gina.kalabishis. While I’m familiar with Ikebana (the Japanese art of floral arrangement), I’m new to the term freakebana, coined by @stellabugbee (the president and editor in chief of New York Magazine’s The Cut, and creator of @freakebana). Read her article for more details – https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/freakebana-the-new-ugly-cool-style-of-arranging-flowers.html.
From my understanding, the philosophy of freakebana is ideas/elements of Ikebana with a brave/adventurous and freaky/freestyle twist. To me, freakebana represents the expression of total artistic/creative freedom – a break/rebellion from convention/tradition/rules through its methodology and choice of materials. It reminds me of the avant garde, outsider art and grunge art. Freakebana artists are cutting edge and not afraid to explore/experiment and take risks. I am humbled, inspired and in awe at the diversity and creativity/inventiveness of freakebana art I’ve seen online. I especially admire the works of @metafloranyc, @uunnaamm, @akolomiets.design, just to name a few. These botanical artists/designers (and others) have helped opened my eyes/mind further to the limitless potential/possibility/power of botanical art and being a creative/artist.
Unbeknownst to me, I’ve also been practising some kind of freakebana in some of my floral arrangements/still life compositions – through the use of recycled/upcycled materials and found objects, thrifting, living frugally, experimenting/learning, working with what I have, being intuitive, and simply winging it. (Which I love and am proud of.) After much inspiration, I felt motivated to create two new floral arrangements today – inspired by Ikebana and Freakebana. These are my contribution to the wonderful world of fearless floral arrangement. Some of the objects/ideas that I’ve used were reserved for future still lifes/paintings (but painting can take so long and much time and effort, sigh) – so, in the spirit of living in the now and going with the flow, I’ve decided to use/share them now rather than keep them hidden for later/ever.
(For inspiring weekly Ikebana reading, I recommend the Australian blog “Roadside Ikebana“.)