Sister Cities Cultural Exchange Collaboration

Left to Right: Bessie Okada, Christine Elocate, Tombow Kobayashi, Etsu Okuno, Christine O'Reily, Chantelle Fisher

During July this year I participated in a collaboration with Australian Jewellery Artist Christine O’reily, Japanese Ikebana Artist Etsu Okuno San, and Japanese Doll Artist Tombow Kobayashi. This collaboration was part of the Sister Cities Cultural Exchange Programme between Tatebayashi (Japan) and the Sunshine Coast Council. Designed to create an environment for cultural experience and exchange, the Japanese artists participated in a number of activites across the Sunshine Coast, which included the collaboration with Christine O’reily and myself.

In using native Australain flora from the local area, the aim of the collaboration was for Tombow and Okuno to create a traditional Ikebana arrangement in the Koryu or ‘old school’ style. Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging, incoperating many rules and guidelines according to the style or particular Ikebana school. From this arrangement myself and Christine created our own ‘arrangement’ of hair pins, inspired by the proportions of the arrangement, and the individual plants and flowers used. These pins were made using sterling silver and titanium, and the processes of heat treating, saw piercing, and giving texture to the silver via rolling mill techniques.

The collaboration also took on the form of a demonstration, wherein the Ikebana arrangement and the creation of the hair pins took place in front of a local craft group. In doing so, we not only observed Okuno and Tombow working on the arrangement, but also were able to learn the step-by-step processes and problems encountered when working in Ikebana. This experience was also reciprocated, as both Okuno and Tombow learnt the same processes in our metal work, as well as the audience.

Christine and I hope to travel to Japan in 2009 to exhibit again with Tombow and Okuno. The Exchange Progaram would not have been possible without the help of Christine Elocate, and our translator, the lovely Bessie Okada.