Flowers 拈花微笑
Ikebana and Dutch Still Life Flowers
“The heart is a repository of vanished things: the rock of Gethsemane, jars of plum brandy, whole fruit turning in their sleep like infants in the womb, a heavenly blue morning glory.” —Mark Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy
Could anything be more different from the spare refinement and asymmetrical artistry of ikebana than the flowers in a Dutch still life painting? Every possible space is filled —bursting with colorful blossoms, tangled vines, and butterflies. Often the flowers spill right down on to the table. And to make matters worse, flowers that are not in bloom at the same time anywhere in the world, are depicted together in the vase. The polar opposite of the chabana (tea ceremony flower arrangement) practiced by my tea teacher, in which flowers are arranged “as if found in a field,” the Dutch still life is hyper-real. Uber-rich, it is a celebration of this world in a very different way than how my teacher did in the tea room.
Every spring, her garden would be transformed into a fairyland. An explosion of dazzling magenta, with waist-tall peony bushes heavy under the weight of giant peony blossoms, each flower the size of a small child’s head. Some were shaded from the sun by paper parasols she placed here and there in sunny parts of the garden. My teacher taught me that flowers are admirable; for not only are they beautiful and generate feelings of joy, but they also symbolize strength and nobility of character– attributes that we can all learn from. When a flower blooms, it either blooms in its fullest capacity and with all its might, or it’s a dud. No half measures for flowers.
One of the famous sermons delivered by the historic Buddha occurred on Vulture Mountain, when he wordlessly held up a single flower, and his disciple Mahakasyapa broke into a smile. He was enlightened. 拈花微笑
A single flower.
No words.
A few years ago, I took a Dutch floral class at the Huntington Gardens, where I attempted to fill up all the space — But I still wasn’t able to face the flowers down toward the earth or to place a few outside the vase….Mine still looks more like Ikebana than a Dutch still life—see all that empty space?
I also took an online class via the London Flower School called the Dutch Masters Floral Class with teacher Yeon Hee Lee—and it was not easy! I still feel strong resistance in my heart to the volume of the Dutch designs. I used to say I hated them. But then one day on Instagram I discovered Natasja Sadi @cakeatelieramsterdam.
I became a devoted follower and then when her book, A Sweet Floral Life, was published, I devoured it over and over again. The kaleidoscope of brilliant colors arranged in antique blue-and-white Delft ware was just incredible to see.
A descent of both African slaves and Indonesian contract workers, it was through Dutch floral design (a product of the country’s colonial past) that Sadi found a way to integrate her background into her life in Amsterdam. She writes:
My enslaved and indentured great grandparents helped build the wealth of this country but never dreamed that someday their great granddaughter would live in the former Canal Home of a wealthy merchant. We are telling their story from a different but equally important perspective. Reclaiming their narrative not only acknowledges the trauma of the past but allows me to move beyond its pain into a new equitable creative footing. When shame and guilt are left behind we can participate in and celebrate the beauty of collective healing
Life-affirming and positive, this was one of my favorite books of the year.
Sadi, to get around the way Dutch painters depicted flowers that do not bloom at the same time in nature, celebrates their imagination with her sugar flower art. For example in an autumn arrangement she has a beautiful sugar peony which you would never know wasn’t real except that there’s no way to get a peony time of year.
A dream of mine would be to have a garden (or live near a flower market) and try my hand at it. For now below is the closest I can get in spirit.
Long live the flowers in our lives….
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Books:
A Sweet Floral Life: Romantic Arrangements for Fresh and Sugar Flowers, by Natasja Sadi
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy
by Mark Doty
Heaven and Earth Are Flowers: Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism
by Joan Stamm
Flora Magnifica: The Art of Flowers in Four Seasons
by Makoto Azuma
On Flowers: Lessons from an Accidental Florist
by Amy Merrick
This is a timely piece, Leanne!
I was marveling on my walk today in seeing a few roses still in bloom. Despite the frosty nights! And most of the leaves have fallen, a few clusters hanging on.
I've never learned anything about flower arranging. I just have always had a small vase of cut flowers. And Goethe? "Flowers are the tears of God's laughter".
Thank you for this! I just found out less than a week ago that my mother took flower arranging lessons as a girl. She casually dropped this information (complete with what “school” it was, though I’ve now forgotten) on me in the middle of something mundane. And then you mentioned Natasja Sadi and her posture toward the harm done toward her ancestors in centuries past. It kind of blew my mind, because I’ve struggled to reckon with the harm that Japan has done the world, and I’ve also struggled to reckon with the trauma that my mother endured because of her own country. Sadi’s quote about telling the same story from different perspectives is amazing and her work is amazing.