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‘(Almost) Ikebana’ is a workshop series conceptualised by Johanna for The Gardening Drawing Club and based loosely on the Japanese art form of arranging flowers known as ‘Ikebana’. In this workshop, participants are invited to paint and arrange flowers with a set of prompts, breathing exercises, discussion and shared cups of organic herbal tea to instil a calming, creative environment.
Participants will discuss the concept and technique after viewing images from various Ikebana Schools and be encouraged to describe the practice verbally.
Each participant will decorate a paper cup to hold the plants and create an arrangement following (or almost) a set of Ikebana rules shared by Johanna.
Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck has been an Ohara Ikebana student since 2018 and recently completed her Advanced Student Certificate. She grows flowers and vegetables on two allotment plots following veganic permaculture and natural farming principles.
The plants in these workshops will originate from Babylon Flowers, a slow flower farm in rural Oxfordshire near the artist’s home.
Some ‘dry’ ‘(Almost) Ikebana’ arrangements by pupils from Plashet School for Girls are currently part of the exhibition Edge Effects.
Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck (b.1990, France) is a painter, transdisciplinary artist and cultural practitioner based in rural Oxfordshire.
Her practice, composed of painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, film, photography, writing, participatory projects, horticulture, publishing and workshops, renders caring, positive and ecological messages in soft and delicate methods. Interaction with the environment and others is central to much of the artist’s work.
Recent solo exhibitions include Dreaming about Tomorrow at Nidi Gallery. Recent group exhibitions include One Foot in The Sky at Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer and New Nature at Paterson Zevi.
Johanna founded the collaborative cultural deep-ecology-informed initiatives Poetic Pastel Press and The Gardening Drawing Club. She co-founded the publication series Journal du Thé – Contemporary Tea Culture.
Founded in 2021, The Gardening Drawing Club is a series of unique events with a holistic approach offering free access to arts and horticulture in Britain. With monthly happenings, The Gardening Drawing is hosted in a broad range of locations, from art centres to community gardens and temples; the events range from workshops to talks and experiences. Veganic gardening methods are employed through The Gardening Drawing Club, advocating for gentleness and compassion while supporting seed sovereignty, racial, climate and land justice and reparation, biodiversity, and animal liberation. The Gardening Drawing Club has a shared mission to integrate the joys of gardening and drawing in others’ lives for individual and community well-being. The project, also a participatory practice, was founded by artist Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck.
