Hanna Golab arranged potatoes with calla lilies — then ate them

I am still trying to figure it out! I think that most importantly they quiet my mind.

It was on a whim. I had to do something different than my job because I was burned out. I do not know what made me think of ikebana at the time, but a few years later I visited my childhood home and re-discovered an old book on ikebana that I had bought when I was a teenager! So the seed was always there.

An arrangement with potatoes and calla lilies. I grew the potatoes myself, arranged them, and then ate them.

I come from a country that does not have strong traditions in ikebana (Poland). Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I still lived there. Sofu Teshigahara once said that in a desert, he would arrange sand. I guess I would arrange potatoes (much less classy).

There are so many different feelings behind all of my arrangements, but I discover them only when I look at my photos after the materials are long gone. When I arrange plants, I am so engrossed in the process that I do not notice anything.

I do not impose rules on myself to remain teachable. My only principle is to never use AI – its negative impact on the environment means that many plants would die to satisfy my vanity.

That you can make close friends even when you are not young anymore! I love my flower community.

I would suggest to not become too ambitious – confidence will come with letting go of your ego. Besides, plant materials do whatever they want anyway.