Hello all,

A friend recently gave me a leaf and an anthurium, with which I made the arrangement, above. Choosing the right vase was most important in this case and, I must admit, I found the whole composition quite pleasing.

For our previous class I had asked the students to make an arrangement in a Tsubo vase using berries. The berries branches was to challenge the students with an added degree of difficulty due to the extra weight of the branches.

 In my arrangement, below, I used cotoneaster branches, from which I removed the leaves, with a camellia branch and Green Goddess lilies. The technique that I employed for my heavy branches to stay upright was to nail the two opposite branches together. The single fixture of the nail allowed the branches to pivot and fit through the relatively small opening of the vase, then open up and rest the bottom of the stems to the inside of the vase and then, further up at the lip.

Vicky, also, used cotoneaster berries branches but chose not to
remove the leaves. Her sunflowers were a strong addition to
a strong arrangement

Bredenia used White cedar (Melia azedarach) branches
and two strelitzias

By coincidence, Lucy used exactly the same materials as Vicky

Nicole used bare Manchurian pear branches and nandina
domestica berries for accent.

Shaneen's exercise was - Shape of the container. She used cordylines
and roses

An arrangement I made just to use this wonderful material in the large, new and
never before used container. I used contorted hazel branches, oranges, nandina
domestica nana and srelitzias

Another fun arrangement. I used nandina domestica berries and
crucifix orchid

I found the dried grape vine stems that I used in this arrangement, discarded in the tub I use for rubbish in the classroom. I don't know which of my students left it there and, as I have never used this material before, I couldn't resist playing with it. Unfortunately, the stems had been bent in half to fit into the tub, limiting what I could do with them. However, the squiggly tendrils are both attractive and extremely practical. I was able to use them to attach the stems to each other making wire unnecessary.

Before I close this post I wanted to let you know of the forthcoming Sogetsu Annual exhibition.

The exhibition will be held in two sessions over two weeks.
Session one: Tuesday 16th July - Sunday 21st July (I will be exhibiting during this session)
Session two: Tuesday 23rd July - Sunday 28th July

Hours
9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday - Friday
11.00 am to 4.00 pm Saturday and Sunday
Demonstration and opening 1.30 pm Saturday 20th July
Venue: Foyer of the Hawthorn Arts Centre.
360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn.

Bye for now,
Emily