Gwen Nagata spends Friday afternoons at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific. She's a volunteer, but not in the usual areas of patient care or clerical work.

Nagata creates elegant ikebana floral arrangements for the hospital lobby.

“;Sometimes the poor caregivers need to wait for hours for the patients to finish therapy,”; she said. “;The hospital has lots of art work from their patients, but the lobby needed some color and vibrancy. The flower arrangements are like sculptures—temporary artwork.”;

Nagata has a personal connection to the therapists at the hospital: “;They helped my auntie and two sisters who had knee replacements. They touch many people's lives.”;

She is among a handful of volunteers from the Ikebana Institute of Ohara School who help put together the arrangements on a weekly basis. The school donates materials for the arrangements, and usually provides 60 to 70 arrangements for the hospital's “;Art from the Heart”; fundraiser.

This year, they'll make fewer pieces for the benefit—30 to 40—but also more than 20 wreaths in autumn and Christmas themes, using such media as silks, pine cones and dried materials.

“;The floral arrangements are pretty, but they don't last,”; Nagata said. “;The wreaths will have more longevity.”;

  Elaine Arita, sensei of the Ohara School, says having students prepare arrangements for the hospital, besides providing a community service, expands their abilities. “;It builds confidence ... Lots of work goes into these projects. Lastly, it brightens everyone's day.”;

The ikebana volunteers bring to REHAB the artistic principals of the Ohara School. Traditionally, ikebana uses a few stems in a vase, but students at the Ikebana Institute focus on creating landscape-style arrangements, which use more foliage to depict the seasons.

Different methods of landscaping, from realistic to traditional, may be seen in the ikebana arrangements assembled for the REHAB benefit. “;We really utilize the space in the lobby,”; Arita said. “;Normally, we make a sculptural arrangement for the fundraiser that is more than 5 feet tall.”;

Arita will create her design for that oversized lobby arrangement at home, using driftwood and other materials, then she'll bring the pieces to the hospital for set-up. “;Ikebana is a living art,”; says Arita, who has been making arrangements for more than 25 years. “;You just need to add water and take care of the plants.”;

Ko Miyataki, president of the REHAB Hospital, says the gifts of the ikebana arrangements “;bring a sense of aesthetic beauty, they provide a sense of peace,”; she said.

“;It definitely brings joy to all of the patients and their families.”;