Earlier today, I met Pamela-J here, at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art. We had arranged earlier in the week to sign up for a Japanese flower-arranging workshop!
While Pam took the subway in from the north, after smashing her finger in her car door and having to seek out first aid, I arrived in the city from the south and drove around endlessly, looking for a parking space. Legitimate spaces are hard to come by on a summer's day on the National Mall, so I squeezed into a questionable space, offered up a prayer to the God of Non-moving Violations and walked the two or three blocks to the gallery.
I snapped this photo of the center courtyard of the Freer Gallery before finding my way to the conference room, where the workshop was being held. I wandered aimlessly through the dark corridors on the lower level, and stumbled across the location entirely by accident, thanks to the directions from the guard at the street-level door.
Pam had similar problems finding the location, arriving, as if by magic, off a (secret?) elevator and through the back door of the conference room.
Today was god-awful hot, especially when traipsing along concrete sidewalks next to the four or six lanes of traffic on Independence Avenue. Pam and I fell into each other's arms upon meeting, as though we had been separated in battle. Then, after mopping our sweaty faces and brows, we calmed down and got on with it--gabbing, that is, about all kinds of stuff unrelated to the task at hand.
Once the program got underway, we were introduced to the people who would be working with us, none of whose names I remember, except for the docent who took us on a tour to discuss a half-dozen or so Japanese screens, ceramics and lacquerware items, depicting seasonal themes. She was either Tammy or Tanny.
(I hope Pam posts an entry on her blog about the program, because she might have some images of some of the items we looked at on the tour of the exhibit. I seem to have been more interested in the food.)
Each of us--and I think there were 25 or 30 people in the class--were supplied with a wine bottle (empty, darn it) and a round, glass vase. The yellow bowls were filled with water, and we were advised to cut our flowers underwater.
After a short and, to me, confusing, mini-lecture about Ikebana--the shin, the soe and the hi kae--the straight and true, the supporting and the receiving--the heaven, humankind and earth--we got to work on our arrangements, after being supplied with some willow branches and orchids and some other green stuff. Well, sort of. I was enjoying gabbing with Pam and not concentrating on what I was there to do. An instructor came by and asked, "How is everything going here?" I was back in first grade and had been caught talking in class.
After fiddling around with the thing, like, forever, and depriving a heap of poor greens and flowers of water and killing them off for certain, I came up with this. Rather than talk about the arrangement, I will say that black plastic is probably not the best table covering for an elegant picture and that I really need a new camera. One like Pam's, where the flash can be turned off and where there won't be shadows, making everything look like you're seeing double.
Well, I guess I will mention the arrangement. That's a piece of curly willow on the left and some leafy willow drooping down in the wine bottle, with a stem of pink orchid in the center, from which I cruelly stripped off all the opened blooms below, using only the uppermost piece. In the clear, glass container are the just the blooms from a white orchid, floating on the water.
I decided to donate my masterpiece to the Smithsonian, rather than shlep it back to my car. I'm sure it will be enjoyed by legions of visitors for weeks to come.
The workshop was quite brief, just about two hours, so there really was only time to touch briefly on two subjects--seasonal depictions in Japanese art and Ikebana.
The best part of my trip to the big city was getting to see Pam, of course, which was the whole point to begin with.
I'm in awe of several things--going into the big city and trying to park(NO WAY), dealing with the heat, and doing such a beautiful arrangement.(I'm the opposite of crafty) You got cojones, lady!! ;)
Posted by: Margaret | July 10, 2011 at 08:53 PM
Well, here it is 11:14 and I've just read Anne's post and found it perfect and interesting (she really is a good reporter. And I guess it's not exactly surprising that I'd find this post interesting..). Anyway, I haven't downloaded my pictures yet but maybe I'll do that now! And even write a line or two about the day. It was great, I can say that. In addition to all that Anne recounts, I got to eavesdrop on a couple of Metro conversations. Very, very mundane conversations but enjoyable all the same.
Posted by: Pam Jones | July 10, 2011 at 11:23 PM