Hello all,

The tragic picture, above, is of our nectarine tree, a casualty of the extreme weather we experienced last week. I was heartsick when I came out on Friday to be confronted by this scene, especially considering that the tree was laden with fruit, only weeks away from ripening. I'll have to think about what to plant in its place. A feijoa, maybe.

My students have been asking for a workshop with bamboo for some time. This required some planning, since we needed a supply of bamboo for everyone. I managed to find such a supply and an excursion was organised for a non-class Wednesday. Those of my students who could make it came along carrying large and small cutters. Philip, the gentleman in charge of the property, was very generous, allowing us to cut as much as we wanted of some beautiful bamboo. We then stripped the canes of the side shoots and took them to my place in readiness for class the following Wednesday.

Vicky, Wendy and Nicole getting stuck into the bamboo

Jenny and Dianne braving the jungle of bamboo and tall grasses

In class the following week we worked on creating bamboo triangles using a particular drilling and wiring method. Once all the triangles were made they were, then, joined together using the same method to create a structure. This structure can last indefinitely, although the green bamboo will fade into beige. It can be kept in its natural colour or painted and can be used time and time again in different arrangements.

The students were not able to complete their structures in the two hour lesson but knew enough to be able to finish them at home.

They brought their structures to the next class together with containers and materials to make arrangements. The photographs, below, are of the finished arrangements. I should point out that, this being the first time they tried using their structures, some of the students were not as prepared with materials and containers as they might be. It's a little bit like using a new container for the first time. There would have been more arrangements but a number of students were absent on that day.

Wendy Sun

Bredenia Raquell

Shaneen Garbutt

Akemi Drohan - new student. Has only had three lessons

Vicky Kalokathis

Nicole McDonald - Christmas arrangement

Wendy Sun using the structure differently

Lucy Papas using her structure in a Christmas arrangement.

Below are a number of photos of my arrangement for this exercise. I have a couple of bamboo structures that I have used in the past, so I did not need to make another one. I chose one that is sprayed white but I wanted to add something to it. I settled on making another, much smaller structure with very thin bamboo and spaying it gold to contrast with the white. Drilling holes into very thin bamboo is quite difficult and I have the scars on my fingers to prove it.But it was worth it.

A closeup of the small, gold structure

I tried a number of different ways of using my structure and I'm going to include some of the incarnations of the arrangement in the photographs, below. When we see an arrangement made by someone else, we rarely think about what might have been tried before the artist had settled on the final product. Often there is a great deal of trial and error and frustration until we get it right.

The first attempt using strelitzias in a tall,
pyramid shaped vase

Second attempt using a taller vase but sideways
so as to appear thinner.

I finally settled on this version

A lucky find during our bamboo collection was this bent piece, which I used with bent strelitzias in a ceramic vase.

I leave you with this arrangement by my student, Mary Sutherland. It is variation number 4, hanging style nageire. Mary used a branch of my dogwood with lisianthus.

Bye for now,
Emily