Hello all,

Yesterday was Orthodox Easter, which brings with it many traditions and celebrations such as coloured Easter eggs, 'tsoureki' (Easter Bread), midnight mass on Saturday, followed by 'mayiritsa' (offal soup). Then on Sunday the lamb on the spit together with enough food to feed a small third world country.

This holiday has brought back memories of this time last year, when I celebrated  Easter with my sister, brother-in-law, a niece and her fiancé in a Greek restaurant in Tokyo.

One of the many lovely people I met at the International classes at headquarters was Renate Willenborg from Germany, who gave me these delightful decorated Easter eggs as a parting gift. She made them by first removing the egg white and yolk, leaving only the shell and then decorating them with Japanese paper. Then she glazed them and, with foresight, she added a looped fishing line for hanging. I took great care to make sure I brought them home safely and I dedicate this next Easter arrangement to her.

Close up of the eggs made by a German lady in Japan, using Japanese paper for a Greek Australian. How multicultural are we?!

After spending a day dying eggs in the traditional Greek method with my grandchildren, I made some celebratory arrangements using our coloured eggs.

Wisteria, begonia leaves and eggs

 

Re using bamboo from my MIFGS
exhibit

Many of you would already be aware of the Gasworks 'From Nature' Organic Sculpture Exhibition, that was on during the weekend and in which I took part. There were 27 very different and very interesting exhibits around the park. The brief was to create an art piece using organic material. I called mine 'Peripatetic' and I used green bamboo in various sizes simulating strides representing the journey, as per the photographs and the Artist's Statement below. This was a new experience for me, to create such a large outdoor installation and a great learning exercise. Ikebana was well represented by four exhibits created by Chieko Yazaki, Margaret Wilson with Matt Dux, Christopher James and me. My apologies, I didn't have workable photos of all of these.

I also enjoyed meeting visitors to the park, as I was present throughout the weekend. Many children enjoyed crawling through the bamboo structure whereas their four-legged friends enjoyed sniffing and watering it.

I love working with bamboo!

And then, there are some arrangements I made just for fun....

Loquat branch.
An example of using one kind of material but also of creating a design by removing stems and leaves.

Weeping willow and Hydrangeas.
Re-use of bamboo from MIFGS  by drilling a hole
and hanging it on the wall

The berries here are from a rather insignificant iris clump at the
bottom of my garden that I intended to get rid of but, since seeing these
 berries, I will keep it. Used with dietes leaves.

And this just makes me happy!
Crab apple branch and cotoniaster horizontalis berries.

It has been a very busy but satisfying ikebana filled month.

Bye for now,
Emily