As a student of Ikebana, most arrangements are regulated by the sequential lessons in four instruction books. Free style arrangements allow for creative expression, so I am inspired by and full of gratitude to use ceramic vessels created by my children in their elementary and high school art classes.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Ikebana Freestyle Inspired by Kid's Art
Friday, March 15, 2024
Sculpture + Zen
Backlit Morimono Project (Book 2-16). Material: eggplant, dragon fruit, radishes, mandarin leaves |
Ikebana
My first goal in retirement was to center myself before making major decisions and setting long-term goals. Mastering the Sogetsu style of Ikebana, serves that purpose while exercising creativity. Now four months in and over 30 arrangements, I immediately get to a still frame of mind with every project.
The easiest way to describe Ikebana is ‘Japanese flower arranging’, but that doesn't cover it. Ikebana cultivates a connection between nature, art, and the soul. Personally, the study of Ikebana fosters in me a calm yet forceful pull to practice continuously for its soothing effect.
Tranquility overrides the chaos of daily living in the time that I focus on form, angles, shapes, color, and movement. It’s not unlike the cathartic inner peace I get from sculpting, but working with natural material is more intuitive and just ‘Zen’. Stay tuned for more compositions.
Monday, December 12, 2022
Theorias Street 12 in Plaka
2022 |
At the foot of the
Acropolis, Demetrios Lagoyiannis, a tailor from Arfra, Peloponnese (near
Kalamata), with his wife Martha (Kokkinaki), found an optimal home in Athens
just a short walk from his shop in the garment district. On Theorias
Street, they raised their three children, Georgia (1934), Christos (1936) and
Eleni (1938). Christos Lagoyiannis, as a young boy and football fan (aka
soccer), memorialized his favorite team by carving the AEK shield (logo) in the marble
porch sill. His work of art, or graffiti, circa 1940's still exists today below the Parthenon and other architectural icons rebuilt by order of Pericles during the 'Golden
Age' of Athens (460-430 BC).
In the same block of neoclassic houses shadowed by the classic temple was a home fronting on Panos Street, adjacent to Theorias #12, where Demetrios Georgiades (1929), an orphan, lived with his Aunt Katina. Georgia Lagoyiannis and Demetrios Georgiades married in 1959, and soonafter had two sons, Pericles (Peri) and Yiannis. The three generations lived close together, until 1967 when many Theorias Street residents were displaced by eminent domain to redevelop the ‘Plaka’ area as a tourist mecca by the Ministry of Culture. The late 19th century homes with terracotta roofs became souvenir shops, cafes, and museums. Demetris and Georgia relocated to non-descript apartment buildings in dense surrounding neighborhoods, until they both retired and settled outside of Athens, near Elefsina.
Icon in Museum |
Peri, who immigrated to the US, returned often to Athens from Cincinnati, OH, with his wife and their three children, to visit his parents, brother and sister-in-law, nieces, and cousins. Most trips involved a hike through Plaka where Peri reminisced about his early school years playing soccer on the Acropolis plaza.
2010 |
Byzantine Exhibit, 2nd Floor |
In 2010, Demetris Georgiades lost his battle with cancer, as did Christos in 2011. In 2020, Kosto followed his brothers-in-law to eternal rest. The surviving sisters, Georgia, Eleni, and Vasso seldom get back to the old neighborhood, but as it happens, extended family were celebrating Georgia’s granddaughter, Chloe and her fiancĂ© the following day, at the ThissioView across from the Acropolis. After the engagement party, the clan strolled down to the museum.
Painted Ceiling, 2nd Floor |
Demetris, Martha, Demetris, Christos, and Kosta, may you shine like the stars above and watch over the Georgiades, Lagoyiannis, and Sophoulis Families, until we meet again.
Georgia with her sons, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, three granddaughters and other relatives |
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Work in Progress
Stations of the Cross (in progress).
Last summer, my son inspired me to sculpt 14 Stations-of-the-Cross, as he was constructing a Passion Trail for Good Shepherd Montessori School. Pictured are 4 of 7 reliefs in progress-- reminding me that it was a good start until life got in the way. This project is coming off the back burner. Hopefully you will see some major progress by the next post.Saturday, October 19, 2019
Halloween Costumes - Part II
Part I: 1993-2003 (Seattle Filmworks era), will be posted when photos are salvaged.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
SMA Memorial: Concept to Installation
Marble arrived yesterday. Plinth is turned. To do: patina, etching, assembly, install.
Stay tuned for progress pics, and updates on list of people to thank:
- Seana Dahlenburg Hue NDA '81 - Inkind Graphic Design
- Christine Dickman Huskisson '81 - Marble Donor
- Janet VonHandorf Schmidt '81 - Wood Donor
- Sr. Mary Dolores Giblin - SND Archivist
- Sr. Mary Reina Arlinghaus, In Memory of our Beloved Art Teacher
- Dr. Laura Dickman Koehl '75 - logistics
- Carol Rekow '61 - Archivist
- Gary Bassett, Fine Woodworker, Rockler
- John Cline, Casting Arts & Technology Foundry
- Scott and Brendan Lewin, Lewin Monuments
- Adam Schmidt, Fine Woodworker
- Jacob Swindal, Alabama Marble
Saturday, March 25, 2017
'Aurora'
See Accessories for more details
Costumes
Friday, January 8, 2016
T-shirt Quilt Finished!!!
Recent efforts to focus on unfinished projects is paying off. Another creative tribute to a very special person is finally ready to spread... a queen-size T-shirt quilt.
Saving enough T's since 1995 to reflect pre-school-to-college milestones was much easier than choosing the final palette. Computer mock-ups, as posted here, helped to arrange. This was not the final layout, but I hope to post pics of the real thing after our first-born returns to the US and sees it.
After fusing, framing and piecing together the squares for the front and the fabric panels for the reversible back, I outsourced the rest. I'm so happy to have found the Quilter's Studio of Loveland, to do the machine quilting and binding. Thank you, Laurie for exceeding my expectations. At this rate, I'll soon have more room to start new projects!-- maybe even twin quilts in 4 more years.
Sr. Mary Agnetis Memorial is a step closer to completion
You can see more of their casting and restoration work HERE and the inspiration for this project in an earlier blog post (Oct. 30, 2013) HERE.
Next steps for Sr.MA:
- Patina,
- Base Design and Fabrication, and
- Installation at NDA.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Pigs n' Peeps Productions
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Fourth of July Tribute
A Tribute to a half-century of July 4th memories
is a WORK IN PROGRESS.
Sun and Water by Danny Heines / Windham Hill