Flowers into Forms

Japanese Ikebana
Mentor Artist: Kimiko Yumoto

Ikebana, traditional Japanese flower arranging. Supported by the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program of the Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury Vermont. Audio slideshow by Ned Castle.

Kimiko and her apprentice, Ikue, work mostly in silence. They work delicately, yet decisively as they transform a pile of flowers into an elaborate arrangement. Ikue has already learned much from Kimiko and her arrangement displays a sensibility and precision to prove it.