Balance in Imbalance – Ikebana Workshop with Louise Worner

On Friday, 17 May 2024, Ensō London had the pleasure of hosting an exclusive one-day ikebana workshop led by the renowned Sogetsu Ikebana artist and author, Louise Worner. The event, titled Balance in Imbalance, was an immersive experience for ikebana enthusiasts eager to dive into both traditional techniques and contemporary approaches to floral arrangement.

The day began with a morning session where participants learned the art of crafting a 'nagiere' arrangement, a signature free-style arrangement in Sogetsu ikebana. Each attendee was guided through the delicate process and had the opportunity to take their own beautiful arrangement home. In the afternoon, participants collaborated with Louise to create a stunning large-scale ikebana installation, incorporating the techniques learned earlier.

Throughout the workshop, Louise generously shared insights into her creative process, teaching participants her innovative methods for shaping breathtaking ikebana compositions. The day provided a perfect balance of learning, creativity, and collaboration, leaving everyone inspired by the art of floral design.

With tea, coffee, and an inviting atmosphere, it was a fulfilling experience for all who attended. We were delighted to see the participants unleash their creativity alongside a master of contemporary ikebana, and we look forward to hosting more such enriching workshops at Ensō London in the future.

Workshop Photography : Wing Cheng
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About Workshop Instructor Louise Worner :

Louise is a British/Australian ikebana artist and author, who currently lives in Belgium. Her 25-year ikebana journey has spanned across Belgium, Japan, Australia, and Spain.  

Louise commenced studying Sogetsu ikebana in 1998, while living in Japan. She studied under the guidance of Yoka Hosono-sensei, a Master Instructor at Sogetsu Headquarters. She was awarded her Sogetsu Ikebana Teacher’s Certificate in 2000, by the former Iemoto of the Sogetsu School, Hiroshi Teshigahara.    

In her endeavour to forge global ikebana ties, Louise has presented ikebana workshops in New York City, Philadelphia, Canberra (Australia), Madrid, Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Geneva, Switzerland. She has work on permanent display in the Netherland’s Flower Art Museum’s Wall of Flowers,, and was part of the 2022 Dutch ikebana team at Floriade, a once a decade flower and garden Expo in Almere, Netherlands.   Louise has worked alongside internationally renowned ikebana artists including Ilse Beunen (Belgium), Yoshiro (Seiseki) Umemura (Australia) and was a member of the team assisting Sogetsu Ikebana Master Instructor Tetsunori Kawana (Japan) prepare and present an ikebana demonstration at the Embassy of Japan in Canberra, Australia.   

She has collaborated with many non-ikebana artists, including musicians, ceramicists, designers, artists, and poets from the U.S.A., Japan, and Spain. She has participated in live and virtual exhibitions for ikebana groups in Australia, Belgium, Ecuador, Finland, France, India, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, and Spain. Her large installation collaborations include the Christmas installation for Hotel Tótem, Madrid, Spain, and the stage design for Japanese singer/composer Youmi Kimura’s ('Always With Me' from the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away) performance in Canberra, Australia. Her corporate work has included the creation of arrangements for Casa Décor in Madrid, ACdO Design Studio (Madrid), the boardroom a global financial cooperation in Brussels (Belgium) and a perfume launch for Issey Miyake.  

Louise is the founding Chairperson of the Sogetsu Study Group Madrid and was a 2022 and 2023 Committee Member for the International Ikebana Gallery Award. She currently lives in Belgium, however, regularly commutes between Brussels and Madrid to teach ikebana, not only to her own students, but also for the Madrid Flower School’s Professional Floristry Program, as their Principal Ikebana Teacher.    

Louise is passionate about teaching children. In 2018, both of her daughters, aged 6 and 8 years, won the Sogetsu Ikebana Ikeru-chan Prize. In the following year, her eldest daughter won the prize for a second time. In 2021, her youngest daughter was a finalist in the Ikebana Gallery Award.  

In the same year, Louise was awarded a bursary by the Ikebana Iwaya Fund to create a video on teaching ikebana to children. In 2023 she published her first ikebana book “My First Ikebana: Ikebana for the Young and Young at Heart” (Stichting Kunstboek ISBN 9789058567161).   Her arrangements have been published in Stichting Kunstboek (2023) ‘Ikebana Opposites Attract’, Prisha Publications (2022) ‘Ikebanists Around the World’, Stichting Kunstboek (2020) 'Masterclass Ikebana', Terra Firma Magazine’s 2019 Diary, and ‘Vase and Flower’  by Akiko Tsuji (2018). In 2021, she was featured in the Autumn edition of the Japanese magazine “Sogetsu” (published by Sogetsu Ikebana Headquarters).


Website : https://www.louiseworner.com/
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/louise_worner/

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