Punk Ikebana: Reimagining the Art of Floral Design

Louesa Roebuck

Nov 2022 · Abrams

About this ebook

Floral designer Louesa Roebuck shows you how to make transcendent eco-luxe compositions with seasonal flora foraged from the West Coast

"The way of the flowers” has been studied for centuries, but as acclaimed author, artist, and floral designer Louesa Roebuck demonstrates, one needs to understand the rules in order to bend them. In Punk Ikebana, Louesa composes stunning arrangements and installations that unite the cultural traditions and elegance of Japanese perspective with exhilarating freedom from convention. Working with seasonally foraged, gleaned, and sourced flora from various regions of California, Louesa reveals how cinematic floral sculptures can be created by embracing the abundance right outside your door. Inviting nature’s often-overlooked treasures into your space means improvising in a moment of time, in a particular place. Exuberant compositions are created with what is on hand, establishing a harmonious dialogue with the flora, space, color, vessels, and textiles readily available. Aligning her deep commitment to the environment with her love of foraging, gleaning, and sourcing regionally, Louesa inspires you to cultivate your own vision and invite the wonders of the natural world into your home.

About the author

Louesa Roebuck, author of the critically acclaimed Foraged Flora, is a multimedia and multigenre creative, floral artist, printmaker, painter, textile designer, and curator. She has collaborated and created flora installations using only local and seasonal foraged and gleaned materials for clients such as Vivienne Westwood, John Baldessari, Todd Selby, Carolyn Murphy, GOOP, Nickey Kehoe, Blackman Cruz, Michelle Obama, Michael Pollan, and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. Her work has been featured in numerous national and international magazines and media, including but not limited to Wired, Vogue, NYTimes, Nowness, Cabana Magazine, C magazine, Remodelista, Sunset, and Martha Stewart Living. She lives in Ojai, California in Chumash Territory. Ian Hughes is a British-born photographer, art director, and craftsman. His work has been exhibited at the National Gallery, London, and published as book cover and album artwork. He lives in Matilija Canyon, California. Obi Kaufmann is an American naturalist, writer, and illustrator. He is the author of The California Field Atlas, an illustrated guide to the state's ecology and geography, which was on the San Francisco Chronicle’s best-seller list and won the gold medal at the California Book Awards and the NCIBA Book of the Year award.