Ohara School of Ikebana Ottawa Chapter

Our Chapter held its annual general meeting on Sunday, May 6th. We had an excellent turnout, and it was a great opportunity to connect with members we haven’t seen for a while.

As this is an alternate year AGM, there was no change in the Board.

It has been an active year, as usual, for our Chapter. There were numerous workshops, exhibition participation, and attendance at NAOTA.

Reports were presented by board members about Chapter business. Our finances are in good shape. We have great communication modalities to keep both our members as well as the community informed.

As a result of the new constitution given to us by Headquarters in Japan, the board revised our bylaws to be consistent with the new constitution. These were presented to the membership and were passed at the meeting.

Liz Armstrong reported on the planning for our 30^th anniversary celebrations. The tentative dates are either at the end of September or mid-October, depending on the availability of the Centrepointe Theatre. We plan on having four workshops, a big demonstration and a reception. Its very exciting that our guest master will be Marcel Vrignaud of France. He trained with Houn Ohara, is a good friend of the current Headmaster, and holds the highest honours in the School for someone living outside of Japan.

An enormous thank you to all the people who donated items for sale and silent auction. There were some amazing containers, and many of us count ourselves lucky with our finds. We raised over $1,000 towards our 30^th! Thank you to: Irene Bond, Catherine Seaborn, Jeanette Arthur (a former member) and Hélène Vigeant. And thank you to Mona Forzley for suggesting the container sale with a percentage to the chapter. A major success for all of us!

And thanks to Liz Armstrong for providing the hospitality and to our members who provided the treats.

The meeting will be held at the home of Liz Armstrong, from 2:00 to 3:30. Please let her know if you are coming at elizabeth.armstrong@sympatico.ca

There will be a selection of books from our Library on display, but if there is a specific book in our library that you’d like to borrow, please contact Lindsay at lmckercher@jlrichards.ca The library holdings are now on our website at https://oharaottawa.com/about/library-holdings/

Do you have containers, kenzans, ikebana books etc.that you no longer need? There are two ways you can help the chapter with your donations.

Any surplus items that you wish to donate to the chapter can be brought to our sales table.

If you are interested in selling items, Please bring them with the prices attached. 15% of the sale price will be donated to the chapter anniversary fund.

On February 17 the beginner workshop was given by Nancy Macleod to five participants who had signed up at the fall exhibition at the Embassy of Japan. It was given at Maki House which was easy to find and had lots of parking. The room was really spacious and nice and bright. Penny Davis was there to assist. Nancy gave a brief history of Ikebana and the Ohara School before demonstrating the arrangement using carnations, baby’s breath, teepee fronds and leather fern in a Rising Form. Participants enjoyed the experience and had many questions. The workshop was a great success.  

Sandra Olney with Minister Moroni

A fine array of pictures taken by member Lindsay McKercher at the Transitions Exhibition can be seen by clicking here.  Alternatively you can go to the menu bar above and click on Galleries, then on Transitions Exhibition 2017. Many thanks to Lindsay!

The “Transitions” exhibition held at the Embassy of Japan on October  21 and 22 was beautiful. With about 30 exhibits of superb quality, watch for more information and a new gallery.

The Ottawa Chapter of the Ohara School of Ikebana in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan will be holding an exhibition of Japanese floral arrangements titled TRANSITIONS at the Embassy (255 Sussex Drive, Ottawa).   It will be held on Saturday, October 21 from 10 am to 4 pm with the official opening at 11 am. Sunday hours are 10 am to 3 pm. Parking and entrance are free and all are invited to attend.

Cliff Shinju Byrnes, his students and members of the Chapter from Ottawa including Honorary Advisor Emeritus Mitsugi Kikuchi produced a spectacular exhibition for viewing on Sunday afternoon, September 10.  Left to right in the picture are contributors: Marie-Eve Coupal, Helen Westington, Mr Kikuchi, Cliff Byrnes, Wendy Batson, Sandra Olney, Elizabeth Armstrong, Ann Levinson. Absent: Elaine Collins. Have a look at the gallery!

Marie-Eve Fuki Coupal will be conducting two workshops in Ottawa on August 27, 2017

Morning Workshop:

Up to 18 members of the Ohara School of Ikebana, or Ikebana International, at any level, will work on small driftwood structures. The class will begin at 10:30

Afternoon Workshop:

Up to 15 members of the Ohara School of Ikebana at Instructor level or above, will work in small groups on large driftwood structures.  The class will begin about 1:15.

Members not taking part in the afternoon session may stay and watch or help. More information is in a recent mailing from the Ohara School. If you need more information please contact Marie-Eve at laurence_place@hotmail.com

Gananoque: Cliff Shinju Byrnes and his students invite you to exhibit at the Carveth Care Centre, 338 Herbert Street in Gananoque. Each year Ottawa Chapter members go to Gananoque on the Sunday in time to set up for an afternoon viewing open to the public between 1:00 and 3:00 pm. For more information, please contact Cliff at cliffsgarden@gmail.com.

OTTAWA : Our annual exhibition will be held this year at the Japanese Embassy on October 21 & 22, 2017. Please save the dates!

A very happy afternoon was enjoyed by members attending the Annual General Meeting kindly hosted by Elizabeth Armstrong. Sincere thanks were offered to Mitsuko Kawasaki for her leadership as President over the past two years. Appreciation was expressed for the many contributions of non-returning 2015-17 Board members: Valerie Pryce (Secretary), Terry Hodgins (Hospitality) and Margaret Michaels (Librarian). The new Board appears in https://oharaottawa.com/about/board-officers/ Left to right are Lindsay McKercher (Librarian), Derek Kitchen (Internal Communications/Newsletter), Mitsuko Kawasaki (Past President), Sandra Olney (President), Penny Davis (Membership), Elizabeth Armstrong (Secretary, Second Internal Communications-Newsletter/Second External Communications – Website), Helen Westington (Treasurer). Missing are Mitsugi Kikuchi (Honorary Advisor Emeritus), Marie-Eve Coupal (Vice-President) and Tom Nicholls (Hospitality).