Carolyn Alter Chosen for First Term Master’s Degree by Ohara School of Ikebana Headmaster
Portland Japanese Garden is honored to have the dedicated support of local artists, musicians, and practitioners who share their expertise and talents with our guests at cultural demonstrations and performances. They help the organization pursue its mission of Inspiring Harmony and Peace by shining light on Japanese culture as a form of cultural diplomacy. Among those who elevate the experience of visiting the Garden’s landscape is Carolyn Alter. Alter, Head Teacher and Vice-President of the Oregon Chapter of the Ohara School, can be regularly seen providing ikebana demonstrations in the Cathy Rudd Cultural Corner, leading ikebana workshops, and collaborating with the Garden’s Culture Department for ikebana exhibitions.
In February, Alter received a letter from Hiroki Ohara, Headmaster of the Ohara School of Ikebana congratulating her on being chosen for First Term Master’s Degree. “On behalf of the Ohara School, I wish to extend to you my heartiest congratulations on your achievement,” the Headmaster wrote. “The First, Associate First, and Second Term of Masters’ Degrees are granted only by the Headmaster directly to those whose ikebana career in the Ohara School is outstandingly recognized.”
“Carolyn-sensei’s passion for ikebana is truly contagious,” shares Mayuko Sasanuma, Director of Cultural Programs for Portland Japanese Garden. “It has been a joy to see participants from her workshops at the Garden become her students and flourish through exhibitions and continued practice. Her dedication as a teacher is also reflected in the achievements of her students. She has multiple students receiving promotions each year. Through her work, she is elevating the level of ikebana in Oregon while introducing more people to its beauty and philosophy. Her receiving the First Term Master’s Degree is a fitting recognition of her many years of dedication to sharing the essence of Ohara ikebana.”
“Carolyn, to me, exemplifies the full cycle of everything cultural programming at Portland Japanese Garden intends to achieve,” agrees Kelsey Cleveland, Cultural Programs Manager. “With cultural demonstrations and exhibitions, we spur visitors’ curiosity about Japanese arts and cultural practices. Next, if a person’s heart or curiosity is moved, we try to provide opportunities to go deeper by attending more exhibitions or performances, taking hands on workshops at the garden, or facilitating introductions to our cultural partners. Not only does she demonstrate, exhibit, and teach ikebana at the Garden, her students now demonstrate and exhibit here too! I offer my warmest congratulations to Carolyn-sensei on this well-deserved accomplishment. The Ohara School of Ikebana places a strong emphasis on seasonality. I look forward to seeing what happens in Carolyn’s next season as an ikebana artist.”
“Thank you to Portland Japanese Garden and its Culture Department for all of its support over many years to help make this a reality!” shares Alter. “By making me a cultural partner and providing a place for me and my students to teach, demonstrate and exhibit the Garden has continued to push my knowledge and learning of ikebana.”
“My journey from observer to teacher of ikebana began at the Garden,” she continues. “I attended an Ikebana International exhibition here in 1993. I recall being here with my husband Bruce and just being immediately struck by how beautiful it was. I didn’t know anything about the artform, much less how there were different schools that taught it. A docent told me if I wanted to learn more, I should pick a school. After doing some research, the philosophy of the Ohara School resonated with me the most. Now, more than 30 years later it is my pleasure and honor to guide students on their own ikebana journey.”
About Carolyn Alter
Carolyn Alter began studying in the Ohara School of Ikebana under Sensei Kitty (Natsue) Akre in 1993. She began teaching weekly classes and founded Wednesday’s Flowers in 2012. She is a long-time member of Portland Japanese Garden, Ikebana International and the North American Ohara Teachers Association. She has attended numerous ikebana conferences in the US and taken classes in Japan, chaired many exhibitions, given numerous demonstrations, and is certified as a First Term Master of the Ohara School of Ikebana. She is also the Head Teacher and Vice-President of the Oregon Chapter of the Ohara School. As a retired physical therapist, she appreciates the healing aspects of nature through practicing ikebana. She loves being outdoors, gardening, and the beauty of Japanese culture.
About the Ohara School of Ikebana
The Ohara School of Ikebana emphasizes connecting with nature season by season, utilizing the materials’ individual character, and arranging it in a naturalistic way. They are known for moribana, which broke with more traditional and formal vertical styles, creating new horizontal “landscape” arrangements, with flowers “heaped” (moru) in lower plate-like containers.