Vertical Arrangements

Once you have completed the Sogetsu Textbooks 1 &2, your journey starts discovering the greater potential of your material.

The first lesson theme in Book 3 is Vertical Arrangements, with the freedom to push the boundaries of design. Freedom can be a little confronting after working in a structured environment of the previous Textbooks. I notice my students are very excited to ‘break the rules’ but then become hesitant when they have to work outside their comfort zone plus trying to come up with new designs.

One point I notice when comparing my work with examples in the Textbook is I use a lot less material to express my interpretation of Vertical Arrangements. I suppose I should try to practice what I encourage my students to do – work outside your comfort zone, which means I should try to use more material in my arrangements.