15th February, 2021

 

Hello all,

The photograph, above, is of my new shishi odoshi (deer scarer). I had one in that position in front of the house for many years but time took its toll and the bamboo rotted and split, requiring replacement. Unfortunately, the retailer, from whom I bought the original, no longer sells them so, I was left with the only option of making it myself.

The recent lockdown meant I had time I would otherwise not have had, so, I took out my tools and got started. Fortunately, because I am an irredeemable horder, I had plenty of bamboo in different sizes to choose from. The only other tool I needed, according to Peter, our family tool man, was a 'fret saw'. A trip to Bunnings took care of that.  I struggled a little because bamboo is a very hard material to cut through and I didn't have the correct size hole saw. Also, the new bamboo is much thicker and, therefore, heavier, which affected the tipping of the water. I kept cutting slices off the bottom of it until I got the right balance. And now it works beautifully. The proof is that we have absolutely no deer in our front garden.

Last Saturday was to have been the first of my Masterclasses but the lockdown put paid to that. Yes, I'm disappointed but, compared to other people, whose lives and livelihoods are strongly impacted, I see the effect on me as just an inconvenience. I've postponed the class to the following Saturday but I'm prepared to do so again if we are not out of lockdown by then.

In preparation for the class I cut some materials for the participants to use. Fortunately, I had not, as yet, bought flowers. The material that was sitting in buckets could not be wasted, so I set out to make some arrangements myself.

I had cut some large pieces of golden elm, which I trimmed back heavily to create interesting shapes. I adore the lime green colour of this material. I, also, used the first belladonna lily and two agapanthus flowers in a stainless steel container.

Golden elm, hydrangea and equisetum
in ceramic container

Book leaf pine (thuja orientalis) and dahlias
in bamboo container

Aspidistra leaves, hawthorn berries and echinops in ceramic container

In the next arrangement, I used umbrella grass with the flower heads inside the lopsided glass containers. Unfortunately, it's hard to see the swirling pattern inside the vases. I used the stems to create the sharp lines and softened the arrangement with the use of the crucifix orchids.

With the lockdown, I had to look after two granddaughters today and the arrangement which impressed them the most was this next one, in which I used five different materials. I must admit, the more arrangements of this style that I make, the more I like them

Hawthorn berries, crocosmia, cosmos, agapanthus and murraya paniculata
in ceramic container.

I hope that we all stay safe and well and that we are out of this lockdown very soon.

Bye for now,

Emily