Appreciate Sogetsu to benefit Ark Hospice

In this season of giving, the Sogetsu Study Group Johor Baru aims to raise funds for the Ark Hospice Care centre in Johor Baru while they promote the art of Sogetsu for public appreciation.

A floral sculpture in the Sogetsu school of ikebana
by a student in the JB Sogetsu Study Group

Ark Hospice Care is a private hospice licensed by the Malaysian Ministry of Health in Taman Sutera, designed as a safe haven to provide quality and holistic care for terminally ill patients, all Free of Charge.

Led by a team of doctors as consultants, the hospice is professionally run by a team of qualified nursing staff.

The hospice depends solely on public donations and with annual operating costs amounting to some RM500,ooo, they try to raise funds through annual community activities like a charity dinner, walk-a-thon and bazaar sales.

While members of the JB Sogetsu Study Group are enjoying the traditional art of ikebana, they also recognise the need for more funds to operate the hospice, a place which provides peace, comfort and a better quality of life for its patients.

Sogetsu arrangements encourage the use
of recycled materials

In view of this, the JB Sogetsu Study Group will present a fund-raising, floral art dinner show themed, A Sparkling Christmas, at the Thistle Johor Baru hotel on Thursday, Dec 8.

This floral show will feature artistic arrangements by award-winning floral designer, Harijanto Setiawan.

While he’s a trained architect, Harijanto, soon discovered his true passion in floristry and went on to win international floral awards including being the first floral designer in Singapore to receive the coveted, Designer of the Year 2013, in the President’s Designer Awards Singapore.

This fund-raising floral art show will be graced by guest of honour, Ibu Restuti Gumai Nugroho, representative from the Indonesian Consulate Johor Baru, Ikebana International JB past president, Gusti Puteri Retno Astrini and JB Sogetsu Study Group president, Datin Shirley Cheah.

Another floral sculpture in the
Sogetsu school of ikebana

Ikebana has several schools that follow a particular set of rules and arrangement techniques with the more popular being Sogetsu, Ohara, Ikenobo, Koryu, Ryuseiha and Ichiyo schools of ikebana.

The key consideration in ikebana is to use as few plant materials as possible to compose an elegant arrangement that follows a fixed pattern of a triangle with three points that represent Heaven, Earth and Man.

In ikebana, the emphasis is on linear perfection, colour, harmony, space and form, and the choice of plant materials is guided by the artist’s desire to create harmony between the materials and the vessels used. 

The Sogetsu school of ikebana was founded in 1927 by Teshigahara Sofu as an avant-garde style of ikebana that uses all kinds of components for structures by incorporating dry materials, preserved and even artifacts, as common extensions of ikebana floral art designs.

Sogetsu encourages the use of all kinds of recycled materials including dried wood and branches as structures and only uses fresh flowers to create floral sculptures.

A copy of the Ark Hospice Care centre's donation form

Even though Sogetsu is based on Japanese tradition, it is a school that strives for a modern, fresh style and is becoming recognized throughout the world as a sculptural form of art.

The Sogetsu Study Group in JB was founded by Datin Shirley Cheah with charter members, Lila Hendra, Serena Tan, Amy Lee, Rina Taniwan, Mrs Tai Yock Chong and Puan Hawa.

To donate to Ark Hospice Care centre, please send your cheque made in favour of Persatuan Hospice Ark or bank your donation into Maybank account No. 501 543 115 239.

All donations are tax exempted so please send complete donor and bank-in details to email address: hospice_ark@hotmail.com or Fax No. 607 – 28 99 278.

Visitors are welcome to visit Ark Hospice Care located at No. 2 Jalan Sutera Merah 3, Taman Sutera, 81200 Johor Baru, Johor.