Hetty Shurtleff
National Garden Club,
Sogetsu Ikebana
Hetty Shurtleff, was born and raised in the Netherlands and emigrated to US when she was twenty years old. Her love for flowers, common to Dutch natives has never left her.
Hetty started out growing roses and soon found her way to the Rose Society, entering rose show competitions in the arrangement category. Wanting to increase her knowledge in floral design, she enrolled in adult education in Santa Barbara where she now makes her home.
Hetty has been arranging flowers for about twenty years, first taking instruction from Richard Finn at City College of Santa Barbara adult education. Following in his footsteps she went on to teach floral design at the Center for Life Long Learning for three years.
Hetty’s curiosity led her to take Ikebana classes from sensei Camille Van Ast in Southern California. After rigorous study and numerous practice lessons, she received her teaching degree in Sogetsu Ikebana.
Hetty is currently teaching traditional style floral arranging in Thousand Oaks and Ikebana in Santa Barbara California.
“My mission is to teach the art of floral arranging guided by the design principals, whether traditional or ikebana and to bring happiness to our life and appreciation for the beauty of nature”. As Hetty often says “We come for the flowers and stay for the friends”.
