A Japanese Master: Keiko Okada
Keiko Okada was a featured florist at this year's AIFD conference and show in Kansas City. She was able to stop by San Francisco and to our humble school auditorium for a Sunday morning demonstration of her work and her style. She is Cheif Designer at the Mami Flower Design School of Japan. My attitude towards floral art will forever be changed by this amazing experience. I am so grateful that my friend Monica was generous enough to give me a ticket to the show.
Keiko uses all natural objects as mechanics, often splitting bamboo and other harder materials to create a natural and minimalist design that still commands a large presence. Here are some photos of the show. I am so inspired! I hope you are too.
Above, a tree is split and placed in a vessel of water with no other mechanic to hold it upright.
Here Keiko is using unopened chopsticks to extend the sides of a glass vase.
This is one of my favorites; a floating island of wildflowers that spins in the water if you touch it.
This is also so simple in its beauty, a vessel that is entirely interlocking parts and reminiscent of a boat.
