Demonstration in Japanese Garden, Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Chieko Klerkx is a practitioner, teacher, and demonstrator of the art of Sogetsu Ikebana.
As a child in Tokyo, she sampled many artistic pursuits (Ikebana, ballet, etc) before deciding that she could best express herself through Ikebana. The school of Ikebana that attracted her was Sogetsu Ikebana, founded by Sofu Teshigahara who was inspired by the avant-garde art movement abroad.
As described in the Sogetsu Ikebana website, “In 1927, when everybody believed practicing Ikebana meant following established forms, Sofu Teshigahara recognized Ikebana as a creative art and founded the Sogetsu School. Anyone can enjoy Sogetsu Ikebana anytime, anywhere, using any material.”
The three photos of Chieko’s art accompanying this profile demonstrate the wide range of potential styles, from traditional to avant-garde.
In the late 1970s Chieko travelled from Japan to Rockhampton where she took up the post of Course Coordinator and Lecturer of Japanese language at Central Queensland University. As a university with multiple campuses and a large remote learning role, she became familiar with the entire central Queensland region.
Apart from her University obligations she took on many roles in the community, including:
- President and Committee Member of the Australia Japan Society – Central Queensland Branch
- President of Central Queensland Multicultural Association
- organising cultural presentations for the Rockhampton City Council
- creation of Ikebana short evening courses at the local TAFE
- developing interest in Sogetsu Ikebana, including presenting many arrangements at the Central Queensland Art Gallery
After retiring, Chieko moved to Brisbane and has devoted much of her time to Sogetsu Ikebana Queensland holding a variety of posts including as Director. She keeps extremely busy arranging, organising exhibitions, and teaching. Ikebana teachers exhibit weekly in the Queensland Art Gallery on a rotating basis, and one of Chieko’s arrangements is shown above.
Whether at the Annual Sogetsu Ikebana Queensland exhibition, or at the Japanese Garden in the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, or at Matsuri, Chieko shares her interest in this Japanese art form with the wider community.