Haiku in Bloom and Emotions
This year's festival in the Japanese Garden from Hasselt has the theme: 'Haiku in Bloom'. Haikus are a kind of poem. Designers, students from the masterclass of Tom de Houwer, Bloom Up, design for this special occasion. In relation to a Haiku that was given to them. The Haiku given to me is from Willy Vande Walle and translates as follows (in the original Flemish text the Haiku is following the 5/7/5 rule):
Playing around in the hay: My Children experience The fun of my childhood
Life is a Journey
Since the main idea of my Haiku is Childhood joy, I’ve chosen Chrysanthemum ‘Sorbet Banana‘ as a referral to it. I read the floral Haiku for personal growth. I believe life is a journey to our better self. This journey is called growth, and as years go by, most people have some kind of strength, awareness, and wisdom through this journey. As one of the fastest-growing plants, bamboo, which symbolizes strength and wisdom, our personal growth can be quite remarkable when we look back at what or where we used to be. The bamboos in my design represent the years that Willy Vande Walle has left behind in his life.
The Symbolization of Innocence and Pure Love
According to Sufism* the letter WAW, (in Arabic signs) that have been placed on the hay, resembles the fetus growing in the womb, and it symbolizes innocence and pure love. Therefore it was the perfect form of this letter for me resonating with the children playing in the hayfield. (*Sufism is a mystical Islamic belief and a practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through the direct personal experience of God)
