Floral Art Demonstrations at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch
On 22nd and 23rd September 2020, Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch hosted the Thought of a Buddhist Practitioner Floral Art Demonstrations. The demonstration on 22nd September was conducted by FGY Art Gallery Curator Abbess Venerable Manshin and attended by 40 participants made up of local Kiwi and members of Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island.
Abbess Manshin’s involvement with floral arrangement started with the 2020 Blessing Chocolatte – Coffee and Chocolate Festival held on June 2020. Because of the sudden unavailability of the assigned Floral Artist, in order not to disappoint the public, Abbess Manshin stepped in as a replacement Floral Artist for the occasion. Though without any formal floral art training, based on her years of experience in managing the gardens of the North and South Island Temples and on her rich life’s experiences, Abbess had succeeded in putting up a floral show with unique floral art pieces at the Chocolatte Festival.
At the demonstration, Abbess patiently explained to the audience her choice and use of materials and the skills involved in floral arrangement. She pointed out that all the materials were freely chosen and conveniently obtained from the gardens of FGS Temples. The audience were astonished and amazed that such simple materials could be turned into floral pieces of flair and elegance. While demonstrating the various aspects of floral arrangement, Abbess fervently sought the active participation of the audience by engaging in humorous conversation with them all the time. The atmosphere at the venue was relaxed and joyous. Under Abbess’s guidance, some members of the audience succeeded in creating floral pieces of their own, and were rewarded with applause from the floor.
Abbess Manshin remarked that most households in New Zealand have their own gardens where they carry out regular maintenance and up keeping. Instead of throwing away the unwanted twigs and branches, these should be sorted out for use as materials for floral arrangement. This will allow for a better management of resources, and at the same time, help nurture our love for Nature by prolonging the useful lives of the plants in another form. During the whole demonstration, the audience witnessed how Abbess Manshin skillfully created her floral pieces, one after another, with grace and in an orderly manner, keeping the workbench clean and tidy all the while. The manner in which Abbess Manshin went about the demo really cast her as a thoughtful Buddhist Practitioner and a cultured Chan’ Cultivator.
After the demo, some audience claimed to have understood the concept of Training the Heart by Focusing on Work by watching how focused Abbess Manshin was in carrying out her work. One could surely complete one’s work if one was able to focus wholeheartedly on it. Other audience said that they have acquired valuable knowledge about their gardens and promised to go treasure hunting for flowers, leaves and twigs in their gardens for use as floral arrangement materials. Some other audience even invited Abbess to their gardens to look at the plants.
The audience said that they have learnt from the floral demonstration, not only the art of floral arrangement, but also valuable philosophy of life. They looked forward to another similar event so that they can acquire more wisdom.