Ikebana Workshop for Melbourne Ikebana Festival

Shoso Shimbo PhD is a certified teacher of Ikebana and has over 30 years experience in Ikebana. He studied under the late Sogetsu Head Master, Hiroshi Teshigahara.Shoso was selected by Belle magazine as one of six “Australia’s top floral designers” and has won multiple awards including the Gold Award at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show. His work was selected for the prestigious publication, International Floral Art 2014/2015 & 2016/2017, Stichting Kunstboek (Belgium). His sculptural works have been featured in some of the major contemporary art exhibitions including the Toyota Sculpture Exhibition, Lorne Sculpture, Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award Finalists Exhibition, Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition and the New Wave Art Festival at the NGV. He won the Arnold Bloch Leiber Prize at the Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition 2017. His recent commissions include a public work of art for the Archibald Award Exhibition 2015 at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Wye River Project as part of the Lorne Sculpture 2016. A common theme through many of his works is harmony with nature's organic order and the relationship between man and nature, where man is a part of the natural order rather than the owner of it.Shoso has an MA in Japanese Studies, a Master of Fine Art and PhD in Education. He is also qualified as a garden designer (Japan Horticultural Society) specialising in Japanese gardens. He is a directer of International Society of Ikebana Studies and he teaches Japanese Aesthetics at RMIT Short Courses.