Punk Ikebana by Louesa Roebuc

Punk Ikebana by Louesa Roebuck
This book came out in 2022, and the subtitle is Reimagining the Art of Floral Design.

Oh, my dear gardeners, if you've ever felt a pang of longing for a touch of nature in your abode yet found the traditional floral arrangements a tad too prim and proper, then Punk Ikebana is the horticultural antidote you've been seeking!

Louesa Roebuck, floral designer extraordinaire, invites us on a riotous journey through the world of wild, untamed blooms. Forget the delicate vases and perfectly placed petals; this is a celebration of the unconventional, the rebellious, the downright punk!

With her infectious enthusiasm, Louesa guides us through the art of creating stunning arrangements using foraged flora from the West Coast. It's a testament to her skill that she can transform seemingly ordinary plants into works of breathtaking beauty. Her compositions are a riot of color, texture, and form, each one a unique expression of her wild spirit.

The great American naturalist, writer, and illustrator Obi Kaufmann wrote the forward, and he clearly is a huge fan of this book.

He wrote,

I will gush.

When asked by Louesa to write the foreword to this dangerous and monumentally beautiful book, I howled a perfectly contradictory mix of terror and delight. I've been bewitched by the magic that is Louesa and her art for years. I identified her long ago as the very best kind of revolutionary, and I signed up.

As an intrepid peace punk, Louesa presents a world to her audience that heals as it wounds. In her writing, in her ikebana, and through her punk ethos, she reverses the polarity of so many expectations, and the effect is effortless, aesthetic alchemy in which the silent is transformed into the loud, the ugly is made to be beautiful, and the empty is found to be surprisingly full.

Ikebana is simply the art of Japanese flower arrangement. Louesa's take on Ikebana is unique and extraordinary - and people have described her work as punk for over a decade.

Louesa wrote in the introduction,

When I'm asked what punk ikebana means to me, my gut response is I'm not completely sure yet.

I do recall friends and colleagues casually referring to my work as punk ikebana as far back as 2008.

They perhaps saw something new and iconoclastic in my work before I did.

Now you may be wondering, "What is punk ikebana?" 

Louesa shares her musings on some punk ikebana key precepts like silence, minimalism, harmonious forms and lines, names, humanity, and composing in situ.

She writes,

Silence: In ikebana, this particularly refers to a quiet appreciation of nature, free of noise or idle talk.

Minimalism: Here's where my punk aesthetic comes in. I'm a bit of a rebel and a maximalist more often than not. I do strive for harmony and balance in my compositions always, but I also love the glam, the sexy, the louche, even.

Harmonious form and line: When you gather and glean seasonal and local flora and compose naturally, you will find that harmony comes effortlessly. The longer, deeper, more studied, or more expansive your search becomes, the more treasures you find just outside your doors. Mother Earth contains all of the multitudes where they need to be; there's no need to fly flora in from anywhere else.

Names: One traditional precept of ikebana is to know the names of the flora you use, as naming is a form of respect. For me, this is complicated. I absolutely acknowledge the power of naming something, the inherent respect of saying, "T see you; I know your name and some of who you are." However, naming is also charged and complex. 

I often speak of flora in inconsistent terms, because that's how I've come to know them. Sometimes the common name rolls more easily off the tongue. This is art and, in the way of art, often an inexact science.

Sometimes it's as simple as, say, preferring the word Nepenthes to describe any one of this genus of over 170 species. Which one should you use in your arrangement?

With most choices I lean toward a less literal interpretation. I could prescribe you use only Nepenthes rafflesiana, the Malaysian pitcher plant, but why?

Instead, I offer you thoughts on my flora friends under the names by which I have come to love them and encourage you to call them what makes sense to you, always with respect.

Composed in situ: When we bring our newfound or long-loved flora friends into our homes or otherwise carry these gifts inside, the dialogue with place continues. It evolves each time I arrange scented geraniums with the recently discovered wild peonies on our land; or datura and passionflower with an outlier of, say, cactus flower.

Each time I compose, I am in dialogue with the room (or any other space): the color story; the textiles; the vessel; the totems; books; art; furniture, even. The arrangement does not exist in a vacuum; it lives, breathes, and communicates with the space as a whole.

This is in keeping with the idea of animism: each object, stone, feather, and vessel has a life force. Energy is porous, interconnected, animated, and never static. When we begin to see, feel, and live this way, time and space expand.

What I love most about this book is its emphasis on sustainability.

Louesa's deep commitment to the environment shines through in every page, as she encourages us to embrace the abundance that nature has to offer. By using locally sourced materials, we not only reduce our environmental impact but also create arrangements that are truly meaningful and personal.

Louesa sees her beautiful work and this incredible book as a source of inspiration for you in your work with arranging flowers. She does not want her readers to approach her work rigidly. She writes,

Punk rejects human hierarchies, so reject the mantle of "expert" or "sensei." Adhering to "the heart of the novice" as a guiding principle requires it.

We are all learning, and learning is most fruitful when we do it together.

I would add that in our increasingly beleaguered world, my learning doesn't solely come from other humans but from our nonhuman relatives and ancestors.

Every time I engage in this medium of floral arranging or let us say, punk ikebana I hope to learn, not to teach or instruct.

Teaching is only a byproduct of learning; they are one and the same, are they not?

So, if you're ready to break free from the constraints of traditional floral design and embrace the beauty of the wild, Punk Ikebana is the perfect guide. It's a book that will inspire you to experiment, to create, and to celebrate the joy of nature in all its forms.

This book is 256 pages of the way of flowers and the rules you need to master in order to bend them and make your own punk ikebana wonders and enjoy them in your home.

You can get a copy of Punk Ikebana by Louesa Roebuck and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $40.