Ikebana-inspired Festive Wreath Making - Camden Art Centre

In this experimental creative course, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck will guide participants in creating a wreath inspired by the Japanese principles of Ikebana.

Participants will be welcomed with a walk in Camden Art Centre’s garden and offered a hot cup of organic herbal tea to restore energy and be inspired. Once in the studio space, an introduction to Ikebana will be shared, followed by the wreath-making session, where each participant will create one wreath in a size of their choice, as small as 10 cm and up to 40 cm.

British-grown dried plant material and a selection of fresh foliage and berries that will last several weeks will be provided. As materials employed in this workshop are primarily dry, participants will have the opportunity to focus and take time to create their pieces without worrying that the plants may wilt. Material will also be offered, including fabric pieces naturally dyed by Johanna using plants from her allotment. The final piece may hang on doors and inside the home.

This course is suitable for any experience level. All materials costs are included.

* Ikebana is the Japanese art of arranging flowers, also known as Kado (the way of flowers).

** Johanna has been an Ohara School of Ikebana student since 2018.

The Artist

The Artist

Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck (b.1990, France) is a painter, transdisciplinary artist, author and socially engaged cultural practitioner based in rural Oxfordshire.

Her practice, composed of painting, drawing, sculpture, film, photography, writing, participatory projects and horticulture, often conceals caring, positive and ecological messages rendered in soft and delicate methods. Her works express care and tenderness, reflecting on the fragility and beauty of life.

Recent solo exhibitions include Dreaming About Tomorrow at Nidi Gallery. Recent group exhibitions include The Equal Right to Live and Blossom at Kate MacGarry, One Foot in The Sky at Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer and Edge Effects at Whitechapel Gallery.

Johanna founded the collaborative cultural deep-ecology-informed initiatives Poetic Pastel and The Gardening Drawing Club. She co-founded the publication series Journal du Thé – Contemporary Tea Culture. Between 2022/2023, she was an invited Lead Learning Artist at Camden Art Centre, developing Do Not Step on the Flowowos (Flowers).