Art & beauty
Uplift the human spirit and expand our consciousness through creative art & natural beauty…
The true significance of art in general is this: to deepen a person's intelligence and lead his or her soul to a higher level by conveying the artist's spirit through the senses. If its purpose is only to amuse, then it cannot be called art. The same thing can be applicable to literature, drama, dance, etc. To appeal to the popular mind through art, eliminate brutality from a person's character, and to make one more civilized in the true sense, these are the raison d'etre of art. The more objectivity an art object has, therefore the more valuable it is as such. However high value an author attaches to his or her creation, it is valueless if it is not current with the world.
- Mokichi Okada
Tea Jar with Design of Wisteria (overglaze
enamel 17th Cent.)
The "Wisteria Vase" was the last piece of art
collected by Meishu-sama, delivered to him only two
days before his passing. He had long dreamed of
having this vase as part of his collection.
The vase is by Nonomura Ninsei, the founder of the
Kyoto school of pottery. It has been designated by
the Japanese government as a National Treasure. It
is now located in the Mokichi Okada Association
Museum of Art in Atami, Japan.
On the Importance of Art
By coming in contact with something beautiful, we can be inspired by the loveliness of the form and this is important. But far more important than the physical beauty is that which is within. When we can sense the spirituality of the creator of a lovely art form we can receive true inspiration.
This contributes to our spiritual elevation and expanding consciousness in every way. Interest and visual appreciation of physical beauty can fade. However, when we can feel the loveliness of nature we become more aware of the beauty of the creator. We begin to develop our inner beauty, that of the spirit, and so receive greater inspiration.
-Mokichi Okada
The Appreciation of Beauty is a theme which is repeated constantly throughout Okada's overall philosophy. He believed that beautiful things - whether they are paintings, symphonies, literary works, gardens or architechturee active forces that could have positive effects on human beings. Okada spent considerable time and effort in collecting valuable works of art and in building public art museums in which to house his collection of over three thousand works, several national treasures and many designated important cultural properties.
The Hakone Art Museum, which opened in 1952 in Hakone, Japan, is situated amid exquisitely landscaped gardens, designed by Mokichi Okada. A second museum - the MOA Museum of Art - is a 60,000 square-foot structure overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Atami, Japan.
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Sangetsu School of Flower Arranging
Our purpose in sharing Sangetsu Flower Arranging is to effect changes in people and environments 
through flowers, bringing about a more harmonious and beauty-filled world. As you arrange flowers, you find yourself refreshed and freed from worries, and your life becomes more harmonious and peaceful. At the same time you bring beauty and joy to those who see your arrangements. The appreciation of even a single flower on a desk can change the way someone approaches the day. The placement of a Sangetsu arrangement in a home, school or business affects the energy and levity of the space.
We have classes, workshops, and exhibits in various locations. Visit our Sangetsu Website for more information.
Click here for Sangetsu Brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader free download)
The Higher Mission of Flowers
Flowers have a special mission by the fact of their very life being "hairs on the head of the earth" as described by Rudolf Steiner. From seed to shoot to leaf to blossom, flowers provide great enjoyment as we observe their process of growth. Their colorful blossoms and fragrance contributes to our inner sense of happiness and well being. Flowers in front of a home, an office building or lining a city street, facilitates a higher thinking in passersby.
In addition to appreciating flowers connected to the earth, when cut and arranged with love and purpose, flowers can provide an even greater service for humanity.
Throughout the ages cut and arranged flowers have adorned churches, homes, and in more contemporary times, office buildings and institutions as either part of a ritual and/or for personal enjoyment. Mokichi Okada, from whom we received the inspiration for founding the Sangetsu School of Flower Arranging, envisioned having flowers wherever there are people. He understood the power of nature as a catalyst of inspiration and change, uplifting the human spirit.
The question has been asked, however, "Does a flower know that it has been cut?" "Are we sacrificing its life?" "Aren't we shortening its life by cutting it?"
Ikebana, the art of arranging life-filled flowers, began in Buddhist temples in 6th Century Japan with the intent of prolonging a flower's life, not shortening it. Flowers were offered as a form of worship and as an act of purification to keep evil spirits and negativity at bay. When handled with reverence and understanding of the flower's higher purpose, it should last as long or longer than when its roots are connected to the earth.
"Yes" a flower knows when it is about to be cut and when it is cut. We have learned from Okada's philosophy that plants are alive and respond to human actions, thoughts and feelings. His philosophy has since been corroborated by the scientific studies of Cleve Backster in 1966, and others.
When planning to cut a flower/branch/shrub from our yard, it has been suggested by Eileen and Peter Caddy of Findhorn to advise the plant 24 hours in advance or our intent, and to ask the plant to please prepare itself for the change. With this in mind, we can talk to the plant/flowers explaining the opportunity to fulfill a higher mission of transforming human hearts and minds.
The way of Sangetsu is to honor the plant material arranged so that each can be appreciated for its individual beauty, yet contribute to the harmony of the entire arrangement. The space is painted, sculpted with just a few flowers of compatible colors instead of many flowers and colors placed together in symmetrical fashion. The artist and the flowers become co-creators, resulting in a work of art that is alive and healing.
By placing flowers in an arrangement we are giving them an opportunity to increase their virtue as opposed to their decay without the benefit of deep love and appreciation from a great many people who can be transformed by their composition.
When we finish making the arrangement, we thank the flowers for their life, their beauty and their service to humanity. We thank them for the joy they will bring into people's lives and the environments they will purify.
As an instructor and a floral artist I have experienced the flowers' "heart" when given this opportunity for a higher mission. There is an indescribable energy which emanates from the arrangement; I have seen tulips sing. This has been confirmation for me that a flower's joy, if I may use a human soul quality, outweighs any sacrifice we may feel we are imposing. I believe that flowers, as instruments of God's Great Art, are happy to serve.
Rev. Kathy Lemler
Director, Sangetsu School of Flower Arranging
