Emily Karanikolopoulos
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A long term teacher and practitioner of Sogetsu Ikebana (Japanese Floral Art) and a key member of the ikebana community in Australia, having studied for 18 years. Along the way was awarded multiple accreditations, culminating in the final, ‘Riji’, the highest accreditation possible outside of Japan. In 2014, spent three months in intensive study at headquarters in Tokyo as the recipient of the Norman and Mary Sparnon scholarship.
Teaching since 2004 and, more recently, commenced teaching monthly Masterclasses for the more advanced students of ikebana.
Participated in numerous exhibitions for Sogetsu Ikebana Victorian Branch and Ikebana International as well as a Sogetsu Exhibition in Tokyo. Was invited to be a guest demonstrator at the Ikebana International World Conference in Okinawa in 2017, to an audience of 1100 delegates and 3 Royal Princesses.
Conducted numerous workshops and demonstrations here, in Victoria as well as Brisbane, Wellington and Christchurch. Exhibited numerous times at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and was awarded a number of prizes, including three firsts in the Shop Window Competition.
As the Sogetsu curriculum evolves, sculptural work has recently been introduced. This has given rise to branching out into sculpture. In 2017, in collaboration with another artist, created an outdoor sculpture for an apartment complex. In 2019, collaborated with artist, John Meade, in designing the 10 metre tall, street sculpture, Love Flower. Subsequently, is branching into large and more commercial sculptures and installations.
In 2020, due to the constraints of Covid-19, conducted a Zoom demonstration, hosted by the Mumbai Chapter of Ikebana International, shared worldwide and via YouTube.
Community broadcasts via weekly Ikebana blog.
