Joan D. Stamm
Joan D. Stamm lived in Kobe, Japan in the early '90s where her interest in Zen and ikebana took root. On her return to the States, she continued to practice and study Zen and Tibetan Buddhism for the next thirty years with a variety of notable teachers.
In 2004, a love of nature led Stamm to a remote island in the Salish Sea where she took up residence in 2008. Four years later, she co-founded Cold Mountain Hermitage, a Buddhist study and practice group that moved from in-person to on-line gatherings during the pandemic. During the second year of the pandemic, Stamm took formal Zen precepts (Jukai) with Eido Frances Carney Roshi at the Olympia Zen Center, and was given the Buddhist name Kanka Kyoshin (generous flower, harmonious faith).
A certified teacher in the Saga School of Ikebana, Stamm had been teaching ikebana for 15 years up to the time of the pandemic when she suspended classes to avoid the spread of the virus. During the many months of isolation she continued to create ikebana and post her photographs on-line so that others could enjoy this beautiful art form. Stamm hopes to resume teaching in person again some day.
In addition to Stamm's training in meditation, Buddhism and ikebana, she holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and a BA in art from The Evergreen State College.
For more of Stamm's writing see A Pilgrimage in Japan: the 33 Temples of Kannon and Heaven and Earth are Flowers: Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism. To see more of her ikebana and pilgrimage photos please visit her website at https://joandstamm.com/, and her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/joan.d.stamm/.
If you enjoy Stamm's writing, please consider posting a review on your favorite on-line site, or leave a comment or message for her on Facebook. She lives in Washington State.
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