Monday, January 28, 2008

Flora in Winter Exhibit and Penjing



Sunday it snowed and the sky had an anemic gray look. We headed to a botanical center to see their winter flower show and to hear Todd Hansen speak of Penjing.

As soon as I entered the hallway winter left my consciousness. White blanketed the fields outside. Inside— flower arrangements and colour. According to people who know, some of these were Ikebana arrangements. Because my knowledge of flowers is confined to recognizing a few varieties and my sense of flower arrangement means cutting off the ends of the stems, filling a tall vase with tepid water and putting the flowers in the water-filled vase, I simply enjoyed the aesthetics.

A number of people set up tripods and photographed the flowers—with and without bounce flash. I took photo after photo— attempting to capture the magic. The brighter the color the more I responded.

I like the idea of learning about something new and Penjng was new.

"Penjing is the Chinese art of creating a miniature landscape in a container." And when creating these art works the artists is involved in a "state of active meditation." So much is stylized , yet there is harmony and balance.There is also confinement.

Click the title and be transported to a Penjing site

1 Comments:

Blogger Dorothy said...

It is refreshing to learn about new things. Color and flowers, so important during our winters. The penjing site is well worthwhile to visit.

February 02, 2008  

Post a Comment

<< Home