Hello all,
Last week I had the pleasure of introducing ikebana to the U3A Mornington Group as part of their "That was Then" 2019 history program.

I had been contacted by Gus van der Heyde late last year and was asked to do this presentation. Of course I agreed and, when the time came, I 'dragged' the ever accommodating Lucy along as my assistant.

We had a very pleasant morning demonstrating to a group that was appreciative, interested and engaged. It's quite different demonstrating to a group that knows nothing about ikebana or floral art. I needed to select appropriate arrangements that are varied in style, size, materials and containers. The difficulty that I faced was the scarcity of materials that had not been destroyed by the extremely hot weather we had experienced. It just meant that I had to be more creative with the materials I had.

Below are photographs of the eight arrangements I did that morning. I had to dismantle the arrangements to bring them home and then re-arrange them in order to photograph them. My apologies to the attendees if there are slight differences from the original. It is almost impossible to recreate an arrangement exactly.

I used squiggly grass and small roses. The theme is 'Paying
Attention to the shape of the Container'

A single philodendron leaf in a tall glass
container

Contorted Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta', hydrangeas and
Kniphofia uvaria

Japanese Maple and Altissimo roses In a ceramic 'basket'

The stripped umbrella is the unconventional material in this
arrangement. Crab apples, iceberg roses and amaranthus

Variegated aspidistra and an osage orange
(Maclura pomifera)

Agapanthus seed heads in stainless steel containers

Part of a philodendron leaf and a belladonna
flower

Bye for now,
Emily