SEEKING ARRANGEMENTS: Sign up for a class to learn the ropes (and stems)
TWICE a week, Masako Gibeault steps into Resobox, a sunlit Japanese culture center in the East Village, with a bundle of flowers in her arms. There, she teaches ikebana, the ancient art of flower arranging.
“It’s not just flower design — it’s something more inside,” says Gibeault, a sixtysomething Toyko native who’s practiced ikebana since she was 18. She shows students how to create minimalist arrangements based on design guides that resemble geometry proofs. Other key elements include sensing the “spirit” and “energy” of flowers and branches and using terrifying “straightening” tools, which look like scrub brushes filled with needles, without drawing blood.
Gibeault likens the process to a conversation. “When I make an arrangement, I’m talking with my flowers: ‘How do you feel? You seem sad today. Do you feel pretty like this?’ ” she adds. “And I’m talking to myself, too.”
Tap into that flower power yourself at one of the city’s many floral classes.
For a Zen afternoon with a friend, the 1¹/₂-hour long ikebana for beginners class at Resobox is a great fit. At 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays; from $25 at 91 E. 3rd St., Resobox.com.
If you’re considering a career in flowers, check out the 1¹/₂-hour beginner classes at the New York
Flower School. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; $150 at 213 W. 14th St., FlowerSchoolNY.com. The New York Botanical Garden also offers several introductory classes and workshops; from $130 at the Garden’s Bronx HQ and Midtown outpost at 20 W. 44th St., AdultEd. NYBG.org.
For an upscale design sure to earn you dinner-party bragging g rights, head to Flower Girl. $300 at $245 Eldridge St., FlowerGirlNYC.com/Classes. (The shop also runs flower market tours for $130.)
And if you’re involved in a DIY wedding, Little Flower
School’s Spring Riot class willll help. April 22 from 1 to 4 p.m.;; $500 at 279 Starr St., Brooklyn,yn, LittleFlowerSchoolBrooklyn.com om.