Your Mood Shows in Your Ikebana


I'm not happy with this one at all, but it gives you some idea of the difference between Western and Japanese arrangement, since these are the same flowers and branches in the Western arrangement below. I'd already cut the branches too short because i didn't think i'd find the kenzan to do an ikebana. Usually i do more with the branches, trimming them to emphasize lines and bending them more but i didn't have as much to work with and sort of wasn't in the mood. Your mood really affects your ikebana, i've noticed. Also your personality. I took lessons with a friend in Tokyo and even though we were given exactly the same materials and perameters to work with, we always ended up with completely different arrangements. Hers were wilder--Mary hated to trim things--and mine were more obedient looking.