About Me

I am Jiaxiu (Melody) Zhang, a flora artist and teacher who currently resides in Calgary, Canada. I love traditional Chinese culture and I am passionate about the art of Chinese flower arranging, Zen meditation, the tea ceremony, playing the guqin and Buddhism, especially as to how I can apply these to spiritual healing and wellness.

I have been studying and practicing the art of Chinese flower arranging since August 2021. I am currrently taking a Chinese floral arts program from Taiwan under the guidance of my teacher, Lishu Li.

The Chinese floral arts program consists of 7 levels:

  1. Junior
  2. Intermediate
  3. Senior
  4. Post Graduate Year 1
  5. Post Graduate Year 2
  6. Post Graduate Year 3
  7. Post Graduate Year 4

Currently, I am in Post Graduate Year 2.

I am very interested in further exploring the art, beauty and meaning of Chinese flower arranging. I want to share my passsion by teaching other like minded people who appreciate and enjoy this beautiful art. My hope is that they in turn teach others so that the art of Chinese flower arranging can be enjoyed by even more people. For those who want to learn more about the art, please visit http://florist.org.tw/

I have created and exhibited special large Chinese flower arrangement works at the Middle Path Meditation Centre for the past 3 years. In addition, I manage a small group of volunteers to arrange flowers there on a weekly basis. In April 2023, I demonstrated the art of Chinese flower arranging at the Chinese Cultural Centre and in June 2023, at the Hong Kong Lotus Festival, at the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Lotus festival was a special event that featured many Chinese flower artists and I greatly enjoyed working with all of them. It’s great to be with and work with a group of passionate people who enjoy Chinese flower arranging as much as I do.

I am constantly teaching and guiding the flower arrangers at Middle Path Meditation Centre. I have also taught other adults this art on special days like Mother’s Day at the centre. Most recently, I taught a children’s class in April 2023 that lasted a few weeks. It was great fun to teach curious, young minds!