Nathan Algren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shiroi_tiger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2017-06-09 06:44 am
shiroi_tiger) wrote in fandomhigh2017-06-09 06:44 am
Entry tags:
Japanese Art, Friday, Period Two
This week, students (and possibly the usual contingent of curious teachers) would step into Nathan's classroom to find a large assortment of flowers, decorative grasses, leaves, and twigs, all spread out on the low table with a variety of containers set to the side.
"This week," Nathan said, already seated and with a sparse-looking arrangement of flowers and twigs set out in front of him, "we're going to explore ikebana. Flower arranging."
So this was going to be another one of those things that you could really only appreciate while it lasted, folks.
"Ikebana is another one of those arts that looks deceptively simple at a glance, but can take years to master. Because I've only started doing this one myself about a month ago... I am not that master. But since the saying is 'those who cannot do, teach,' that isn't going to stop me from telling you a bit about it and setting you loose on a pile of flowers regardless."
You're welcome, class.
"There's a lot of symbolism in the Japanese art of flower arranging. Arrangements put less focus on color and more focus on shape, line, and form, with maybe a couple of blooms to help accent a structure that puts stronger focus on other parts of the plant. The intent of an artist is often to portray a particular mood, or a scene from nature. There are hundreds of schools and styles of the art form, incorporating different dishes, plant materials, and types of symbolism. Standing flowers or sloping twigs might be used to portray mountains, or a few small blooms interspersed among standing grasses or leaves might be intended to evoke fish swimming among the weeds in a pond. Some ikebana arrangements consist of only three parts; a tall part drawing the attention upwards in order to represent ten, or heaven, something that hangs low in the arrangement or even points downward in order to symbolize chi, the earth, and something in the middle, pointing outward or simply existing between, for humans, jin."
He gestured to the assortment of cuttings on the table.
"We won't focus on any one particular form today. An hour is hardly enough time to get too far into it, really. But while you're working on your arrangements, try to keep in mind a mood or an image that you want to represent, rather than simply heaping more flowers in for show."
"This week," Nathan said, already seated and with a sparse-looking arrangement of flowers and twigs set out in front of him, "we're going to explore ikebana. Flower arranging."
So this was going to be another one of those things that you could really only appreciate while it lasted, folks.
"Ikebana is another one of those arts that looks deceptively simple at a glance, but can take years to master. Because I've only started doing this one myself about a month ago... I am not that master. But since the saying is 'those who cannot do, teach,' that isn't going to stop me from telling you a bit about it and setting you loose on a pile of flowers regardless."
You're welcome, class.
"There's a lot of symbolism in the Japanese art of flower arranging. Arrangements put less focus on color and more focus on shape, line, and form, with maybe a couple of blooms to help accent a structure that puts stronger focus on other parts of the plant. The intent of an artist is often to portray a particular mood, or a scene from nature. There are hundreds of schools and styles of the art form, incorporating different dishes, plant materials, and types of symbolism. Standing flowers or sloping twigs might be used to portray mountains, or a few small blooms interspersed among standing grasses or leaves might be intended to evoke fish swimming among the weeds in a pond. Some ikebana arrangements consist of only three parts; a tall part drawing the attention upwards in order to represent ten, or heaven, something that hangs low in the arrangement or even points downward in order to symbolize chi, the earth, and something in the middle, pointing outward or simply existing between, for humans, jin."
He gestured to the assortment of cuttings on the table.
"We won't focus on any one particular form today. An hour is hardly enough time to get too far into it, really. But while you're working on your arrangements, try to keep in mind a mood or an image that you want to represent, rather than simply heaping more flowers in for show."
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Peter poked his head in the door and gave Nathan a little wave. "How's it going?"
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Nathan glanced up at Peter and gave him a small grin in turn.
"Well, the flowers haven't randomly started screaming," like that damn goat, "and nobody's become animals today or randomly found themselves without their shirts, so I'm going to consider it a win so far."
No matter what the arrangements ended up looking like.
"Care to join us?"
He'd brought an awful lot of flowers along for four minimalist arrangements, okay?
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More for the language barrier than anything.
"You working on anything in particular?"
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Yeah, and Nathan was good at communicating around a language barrier, but it would be difficult to explain paychecks with a guy who spoke a language he was fairly unfamiliar with.
"In particular?" He looked down at the selection of twigs and flowers in front of him. "Something with cherry blossoms, apparently."
That part had been important.
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"If being fond of what reminds you of home is cliche, then so be it," Nathan decided. "I haven't spent long in Japan, but being stuck here makes me appreciate the little reminders of what I love about it all the more."
Sharing and caring time with Captain Nathan Algren.
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"So." He picked up a spare dish. "I've read a few of the books, but this mostly seemed more about symbolism than appearance."
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"It's a little bit of both," Nathan replied, shrugging. "Symbolism in simplicity, aesthetically pleasing arrangements that don't just rely on slapping a bunch of flowers together... there's some balancing to be done between the two."
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Okay, then he arranged them and took out some and made it so they made a nice picture, but it wasn't exactly traditional arranging, let alone ikebana.
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"You're an interior decorator's worst nightmare, aren't you?"
No, there were definitely worse. But Nathan hadn't really learned about feng shui, so there was only so much teasing he could do in that regard.
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So yeah, he really was.
"I have a big TV. I don't really watch it, but there's movie nights."
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"... Well, I did only get chairs a few weeks ago," Nathan noted. "I just like to think I keep an efficient living space."
He hadn't felt like hauling furniture.
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"Get a few decent cushions, and the floor's just fine," Nathan agreed, smirking a little. It was what he'd done with the classroom, after all. "And it's a lot hard to run out of space that way."
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"Nothing the matter with that, either." Nathan shrugged. "If that's what works for you, I'm not here to judge."
At least you had more furniture than a Kanan had before Hera came along, Peter!
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