365 Days of Ikebana

Keith Stanley in Washington, DC created 365 Days of Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging)...



Why did you decide to do this project? My reason for doing this project was motivated by my difficulty in building a body of work, I was creating work sporadically and felt I needed some motivating factor to create more often. So I got a copy of your book 365: A Daily Creativity Journal  and realized on online daily project would really give me a reason to do something daily and hopefully create some expectation to do so. My immediate response was to just leap and begin my project, I knew if I hesitated I would probably not have to courage to do a project like this publicly. From there on out I knew my job was to simply do the work each day, good or bad I had to resist the urge to judge each daily piece and just put it out there regardless.



How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? One of the nicest things about the project was connecting with other people interested in ikebana or flower arranging. I heard from lots of ikebana students who were inspired by what I was doing, and others seeking information about how they could find an ikebana teacher or class in their area. Readers would often ask about container sources and particular materials I had used, and I enjoyed being able to share my knowledge. I also leaned a lot myself about how to photograph flowers, and saw a big progression in my photography skills.

Recently I had been looking back at the images created during that year, and I realized that I finally had this body of work that I had longed for. It has inspired me once again and am just finishing up my first self published book using some of my favorite ikebana arrangements from the project.  My plan now is to release "365 Days of Ikebana" on Blurb.com.


See all of Keith's arrangements HERE.

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