UPDATE (Tuesday, January 24, 2017; 10:06 am): Due to the weather and road conditions following an overnight sleet and rain event, this program will be postponed to March. An updated press release will be issued, according to The Garden Club of Newtown.

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The upcoming meeting of The Garden Club of Newtown on Tuesday, January 24, will feature a program on "Ikebana: The Art of Flowers," presented by Pat McNelis. Ms McNelis is a certified master instructor from the Ichiyo School of Ikebana.

Using minimal materials, Ms McNelis will create a dramatically beautiful arrangement showing the spiritual connection to nature through branches and flowers. Ikebana integrates natural materials with shape, line, space, rhythm, and order, revealing a Japanese respect for beauty and the natural world.

Ikebana International describes the Japanese art of flower arrangement as "more than simply putting flowers in a container. It is a disciplined art form in which the arrangement is a living thing where nature and humanity are brought together.

"It is steeped in the philosophy of developing a closeness with nature," the organization's website also states. "Ikebana is an art, in the same sense that painting and sculpture are arts.... As is true of all other arts, ikebana is creative expression within certain rules of construction. Its materials are living branches, leaves, grasses, and blossoms. Its heart is the beauty resulting from color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the meaning latent in the total form of the arrangement. Ikebana is, therefore, much more than mere floral decoration."

Ms McNelis will also discuss the history and principles of Japanese floral design as applied to Western spaces.

This informative program is free and open to the public. It will begin at 1 pm. Registration is not required, although donations are appreciated.

The program will be held in the Olga Knoepke Meeting Room on the first floor of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

For additional information on the program send e-mail to thegardenclubofnewtown@yahoo.com.

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