My First Ikebana: Ikebana for the Young and Young at Heart

Louise Worner is a British/Australian ikebana artist who commenced studying Sogetsu ikebana in 1998 while living in Japan. Although she currently lives in the USA, her 25-year ikebana journey has spanned across Belgium, Japan, Australia, and Spain. Louise’s passion for teaching ikebana to children stems from her longstanding career in education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language, Post-Graduate Diploma in Education, and a Master of Arts in International Relations (honours). Louise draws on her extensive experience as a teacher and as an Education Program Evaluator for the Australian Department of Defence to develop fun and engaging ikebana lessons for children. As a result of her dedication to teaching ikebana to children, in 2021 she was awarded a bursary by the Ikebana Iwaya Fund to create a video on teaching ikebana to children. While living in Spain, Louise was the founding chairperson of the Sogetsu Madrid Study Group. In her endeavour to forge global ikebana ties, she has presented ikebana workshops in New York City, Philadelphia, Canberra (Australia), Madrid, Paris, Belgium, and the Netherlands.