Kanreki renka
Kanreki is Japanese word denoting 60th birthday. The word derives its meaning from two words: kan meaning return, and reki meaning calendar. When a person turns 60, she has gone through the Chinese zodiac cycle five times, and she is back at her original
Ikebana in Morocco
Making ikebana wherever I go has become a way of getting to know new people and new places. What a privilege! From August 2022, my new home country is Morocco. What a festival of colors, and designs! Morocco has different climate zones so that
Norwegian summer 2022
Norwegian summers are unpredictable. Most sommers are rainy and overcast, but then, from time to time there is that wonderful, sunny summer that makes one love Norway even more. The sun enhances all the green shades in the nature and living indeed becomes easy.
Beauty of everyday activities
Everyday activities should be celebrated. No matter what they are for you – shopping, going to a hair dresser, drinking coffee with your friends or caressing your pet. I celebrate everyday activities, be it mine or somebody else’s, by taking snapshots of them and
Ikebana studios are all over the world
As ikebana enthusiast I try to make ikebana wherever I go. And wherever I go, goes my ikebana studio with me. Ikebana studio is a space where I can take photos of my ikebanas. It can be anywhere in my room, on a bookshelf,
Happy New Year – እንቁጣጣሽ
On Friday evening, 10th of September, we will be welcoming Ethiopian New Year in Addis Abeba. After eating injera and wot dish we will light wooden torches called “chibo” in Amharic language. Chibo symbolizes coming of a new season of sunshine and new hope.
Sunflowers – small suns in ikebana
Sunflowers are small suns that make our days and our ikebana brighter and happier. Their lovely heads inspire our imagination and creativity. And birds adore them! There is a farmer living in Nerdrum, about 30 km away from Oslo who plants a line of
Exploring Addis Abeba through ikebana
Exploring new cities through ikebana is an exciting way to get to know new places. Every new city has its peculiarities and exciting plants that can be used in ikebana. Addis Abeba, አዲስ አበባ, Ethiopia's capital is no exception.
How to spend a rainy day?
How to spend a rainy day? Addis Abeba is known for having a lot of rains. This year the rain season started really early, already in April. If you add quarantine to the rainy season it becomes a challenging affair!
Birds of paradise in ikebana
Birds of paradise or strelitzia reginae is one of the most spectacular flowers. Its vivid orange and violet flowers draw our attention and remind us of its namesake - beautiful birds.
Papyrus in ikebana
Papyrus is such a fantastic plant! It looks majestic both when it is small or when it reaches several meters hight. It can be used for making different object, like mats and sandals, and of course paper. I think we all connect papyrus
Ikebana meets fidel
Ikebana, Japanese floral art meets fidel, Amharic writing system. Sounds exciting? Read on...
Ikebana in ceramics from Kechene, Addis Abeba
Ikebana in ceramics from Kechene - what a challenge for ikebanists! Kechene women's pottery cooperative is a wonderful place in Addis Ababa.
The way of flowers in Addis Abeba
Ikebana has, among other things, given me wonderful opportunities to meet new people and experience new places.
Flowering Nasredin Hoca
I love to read stories! And my childhood was such a wonderful world of stories. One of the witty heros that I particularly enjoyed was Nasredin Hoca.
Flowers by the roadside
Ikebana can be made using any type of plants. I often think how noble this thought is. It erases the difference between the expensive, exotic flowers of strong colors that we buy in flower shops and the modest lily of the valley that grows
Ikebana-cat
Ikebana-cat is the nickname I gave my cat because he is a big ikebana lover. He is always there next to me when I make an ikebana, when he wants to pose in front of an ikebana, or when he wants to drink
Kohibana – ikebana and coffee ceremony
Kohibana - ikebana made to complement coffee ceremony is my invention inspired by this wonderful ceremony. The coffee drinking ceremony, bun, has a special place in the cultural tradition of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
