Are you intrigued with the delicate art of Japanese flower arrangement? So was Katherine Wallick, the treasurer of Virginia Peninsula Chapter of Ikebana International from 1972-1973. Wallick took a variety of workshops for her craft, including workshops with Ellie O’Brien in 1970 as well as Jackie Kramer of Holland. Researchers can track Wallick’s progress as an ikebana student through the diagrams and notes in her workshop notebooks, as well as a vast collection of her photographs, magazines, and books on the topic. The images below detail a few items from the collection’s holdings.
Katherine Wallick’s Ikebana Workshop Notebook, 1970
Katherine Wallick Ikebana Collection
01 MSS 2008-020
Katherine Wallick writes notes to herself on Japanese phonetics in this personal ikebana study notebook, dated from 1970-1972.
I-ke-ba-na (Ee-kay-bah-nah)
A- ah
E- A as in ape (or eh)
i – ee as in “eek”
o- o as in Bow
u- u as in super
Below this phonetic breakdown is a note about the Sogetsu school of ikebana. There are many schools of ikebana, each following its own philosophy of design and style.
Ikebana International Magazine bound into one book, 1974-1977
Katherine Wallick Ikebana Collection
01 MSS 2008-020
This bound compendium of Ikebana International Magazine contains issues from 1974-1977. The pages displayed here are from Issue 47 contain images and descriptions of the materials and containers used in each arrangement, as well as a critical description of the arrangements pictured.
Katherine Wallick’s Ikebana Workshop Notebook, undated
Katherine Wallick Ikebana Collection
01 MSS 2008-020
This second notebook page contains a preliminary sketch of the “basic upright style” ikebana arrangement that Wallick was learning about. The angle at which certain plant elements (such as flowers, leaves, or stems) lean at is of utmost importance in ikebana arrangements. One can note the system by which Wallick identified the different elements in her arrangements (perhaps as instructed so by her teacher) by comparing this page with the other notebook on display.
You can explore the contents of the collection online here: https://archives.lib.fsu.edu/repositories/4/resources/510. If you would like to see these exciting objects in person, please visit the Special Collections Reading Room, Monday to Friday 10 am to 6 pm.
Illuminations 