Please join us for the opening of the Floating Islands, Ceramic Vessels for Ikebana at the District Clay Gallery.

This special event will include an ikebana demo and artist talk by Valerie Eccleston plus Ikebana arrangements by three artists. Valerie will demo a simple ikebana arrangement that you can do at home.

Victoria Melzer, Ohara School of Ikebana
Valeria Shishkin, Ikenobo School of Ikebana
Valerie Eccleston, Ichiyo Ikebana

Ikebana is the centuries old practice of Japanese flower arrangement. At the opening, you will see with your own eyes why this practice is considered a fine art in Japan. (Note the flower arrangements will stay up only through Tuesday, Oct 2nd.)

Ikebana arrangements are characterized by simple, often dramatic arrangements that use negative space, references to the nature and a wide variety of floral and woody materials. These artistic "landscapes" evoke a sense of serenity and natural beauty inside the home. The ceramic vessel is an integral part of the arrangement. They are, to put it simply, floating islands of beauty.

The show features 30 ceramic vessels by 14 master ceramic artists from the United States and Japan, including Randy Johnston, Ken Matsuzaka, Peter Callas, Ani Kasten and Jeff Shapiro among others. This is the largest exhibition of ceramic ikebana vessels in the United States in over a decade. The show is curated by Akira Satake, a Japanese-American ceramic artist living in Asheville and Ikebana practitioner. To see pictures of the ceramic vessels on display, click here.

Light refreshment served. Doors open at 6 pm, talk starts at 6:30 pm. Parking is available directly in front of the Off the Beaten Track Warehouse. District Clay's doors are on the left.

This exhibition opened at the Japanese Information and Culture Center (JICC) of the Japanese Embassy and is sponsored by the JICC, Ikebana International Washington DC Chapter #1, the District Clay Gallery and Marymount University.

Show closes on October 24th.