MASTERCLASS NO.4
Hello all,
I had to cancel the regular Wednesday class due to the surgery I had the day before, however, I was well enough to run the Masterclass on the Saturday.
This month, I organised a three step exercise.I provided each participant with one or two types of non organic material and asked them to create a sculptural piece. Each participant was matched with the material by lottery, so that, even I, would not know who would get what. They, then, could choose a container to use with their sculpture. And only after the two steps were completed, I brought in a large bucket with fresh materials from which they could choose to complete their exercise. The containers and fresh materials were optional.
I challenged myself with the same exercise prior to class. The result is the arrangement, above. I used two strips of brown plastic and two smaller black pieces, which had a square hole on one end and a round one on the other, through which I could just fit the long strips. These long strips could bend but with difficulty, creating a great deal of tension, thus holding the pieces together.
After securing the structure, I had a quick look at my shelves of containers and couldn't go past this curved brown vase. The taro leaf added life and colour to my creation.
Nicole had some very colourful plastic strips, which she glued together with a glue gun. She chose a tall vase so as to elevate her structure and added an aging and yellowing monstera leaf that had been cut into a sharp point.
Julie had a box with rolled up, duck egg blue, vertical blinds. There were, also, some clear plastic pieces which she chose not to use. In her 'tower' she was able to create interesting shapes with different degrees of unfurling. The existing folds that had been created in its packaging added to this. The addition of the small, lopsided vase and the delicate, Japanese anemone seed heads contrasted well with the strength of the 'tower'. And how charming is that one leaf near the base?
Akemi's piece was very sci fi. She took some time to settle on using only one of her materials, which, luckily, had a removable backing revealing a sticky side. She was able to use that to connect the pieces into this rocket like structure. Her choice of stainless steel container and single, New Zealand flax fitted the bill perfectly.
Jenny had some interesting leather-like material from which pieces had been removed leaving a type of wide net. There were also some strips of the same material. She used a hard, plastic piece to support this rather floppy material and used the strips to create space, line and movement. Her choice of container, discretely placed at the back, was appropriate. The green, taro leaves contrasted very well with the orange of the net.
Lucy had only pieces of curved, reconstituted timber. She put my drill to good use to create her structure, which was made up of one large and one small piece.
She chose not to use a container and had difficulty selecting from the fresh materials I provided, as they did not suit. I sent her into the garden to help herself and she came back with the agave. Good choice.
My student, Mary did her last lesson on Book 2, which is a Celebratory Arrangement. She used cotoneaster berries and pine with disbud chrysanthemums and red carnations. Her container is a traditional Ikenobo style with its narrow base and she had to take measures to balance the arrangement, not just visually but physically. It's not clear in the photo but the pine needles, which had to be shortened, are pointing up and slightly forward.
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