28th February, 2022

 

Hello all,

The arrangement, above, is made using three of my much prized apples and a branch of the same apple tree. I also used some nandina domestica nana that's just changing colour. The tall vase is stainless steel.

All of our fruit trees, apart from the fig, have produced much fewer fruit than previous years. I managed to safeguard from the local fauna, a couple of dozen of the apples by covering them with plastic bags. I suspect this is the reason that they have none of their usual, reddish strips of colour.

It is Amaryllis belladonna time and I have loved going out into the garden to see these snake-like stems come up from the dirt and, in no time at all, they have produced a large flower head comprising of clusters of up to thirty funnel-shaped flowers. In my garden I have pink, cream and one red. I had divided the bulbs a couple of years ago because they were very crowded, so I had only a couple of flowers last year. I'm very pleased to say that I have many more this year.

Belladonna lilies with willow stems twisted, dried and sprayed white. Glass vase

Philodendron selloum and belladonna lilies in ceramic container

Weeping elm stem and belladonna lily in ceramic tsubo vase

Frilly fishbone fern and red belladonna lily in ceramic container

Last week we had our very first Sogetsu workshop, run by Elizabeth Angell. The theme was 'An Ikebana Arrangement Incorporating Paper'. My arrangement is below. 

I had a very pretty, Japanese, double sided paper, which I cut into strips, in similar width to the New Zealand fax I was using. I draped two long strips over the flax and added pink cleome spider flowers, picking up the colour on one side of the paper. To see Elizabeth's demonstration arrangements as well as those made by our members, please click Sogetsu Victoria and then 'Recent Workshops'.

Bye for now,

Emily

21st February, 2022

 

Hello all,

At last Wednesday's class, the theme for the advanced students was 'Glass Containers'. In this exercise the container must be transparent so that refraction through water is visible. Depending on the shape of the container, there can, also, be reflection. Any materials inside the container must be an integral part of the overall arrangement.

In an effort to find materials I haven't used before in this exercise, I was drawn to the vibrant colours of this bromeliad - Neoregelia carolinae. I was aiming to remove just the leaf blade by gently prying it away from the plant and I managed to remove some of them before the whole cup came away. So now I had materials for two arrangements. The first one was the one below, I used the leaves with the sheaths interconnecting to get this in-and-out of the container arrangement. 

The one above was my second arrangement, putting to use the accidental removal of the cup of the bromeliad. Fortunately, I have quite a few of them growing at the bottom of the garden, so it was not a loss.

Jenny used a recently acquired, faceted, glass container, which she laid on its side rather than the more conventional upright. The shape of the container still allowed enough depth for water. She used umbrella grass, which she trimmed sharply and whose stems she bent to complement the shape of her container. The two green materials inside the container are unfamiliar to me but worked very well.

Nicole used an oval shaped, glass vase into which she bent the stems of agapanthus, with just one flower head peaking at the top.

Vicky used just crocosmia inflorescence inside and out of a slightly conical vase. She tried using other materials as well but they cluttered the arrangement and took away from the lines, so were left out. 

Lucy used only roses, given to her for Valentine's day. The simple arrangement belies the difficulty involved in arranging the stems evenly.

Bredenia used two calla lily leaves and some individual flowerettes from the ginger flower in a rectangular, glass vase.

Wendy's curriculum theme was Ka-bu-wa-ke from Book 3. She used agapanthus and roses in a ceramic suiban.

Shaneen's curriculum theme was Focusing on the Uses of Water. She chose to use a fish bowl, glass container, filled half way with water, in which she floated a small water lily leaf and some tiny flowers. She placed a lichen covered branch over the top, which cast a shadow over the whole thing, drawing the eye to the inside of the container and, therefore, the water. I've lamented this point before but photographing arrangements in glass vases can be very difficult. I apologise that you can't see the inside of the bowl properly.

Bye for now,

Emily

14th Februry, 2022

 

Hello all,

And Happy Valentine's day to the romantics among you.

The first, regular class for the year had to be postponed due to covid and was held last Wednesday. The theme I set for the advanced students was to make an arrangement using seasonal materials. Seasonal flowers are quite easy to find in Summer but leaves and branches are another matter. Any material that is available for more than one season is disqualified. 

In my arrangement, above, I used crabapple branches with fruit on them, thus ensuring that they were seasonal. And I used the last of my gloriosa lilies to finish the arrangement.

Jenny used pineapple lilies (Eucomis) and one, quite amazing, orange flower called Fireball lily (Scadoxus multiflorus). The flower was so big that it dominated the arrangement, so Jenny partially concealed it with the pineapple lily.

Vicky also had an abundance of pineapple lilies. She teamed them up two of them with stripped agapanthus flower heads and crocosmia stems without flowers in a ceramic container. By keeping the agapanthus low, she emphasised the beautiful colour and curves of the stems of the lilies.

Lucy used kaffir lime branches, hydrangeas, agapanthus and crocosmia in a traditional, ceramic vase.

Bredenia also used crocosmia, agapanthus and hydrangeas in a ceramic container. This arrangement also addresses the theme 'With Flowers Only'.

Shaneen's curriculum piece was on the theme 'Using Fresh and Unconventional Materials'. She used New Zealand flax and agapanthus for the fresh materials and put together a couple of fan shaped structures from icy pole sticks, which she then sprayed red for the unconventional materials.

I leave you with this arrangement using a type of date palm inflorescence and hydrangeas in a ceramic container with openings on both sides. I found  the dry material in the storeroom whilst looking for something else and got so  distracted making this arrangement that I forgot what I was looking for originally.

Bye for now,

Emily

Masterclass No. 8

 

Hello all,

Today's Masterclass was held on our balcony with the ceiling fan on and social distancing. We have to find ways to stay as safe as we can from Covid, while at the same time continuing with life. We've had to put things on hold for far too long. It was just great to see everyone and to catch up, as well as indulge in one of our favourite activities.

As in previous Masterclasses, I selected the materials for each arrangement and they were given to the students based on a raffle. This time, however, I asked each one to pick a container for their material themselves. Once they did so, I asked them to move one place over, thus having a container and materials they did not choose. I wanted to avoid choosing both the materials and container because, try as I might, I can't help injecting my opinion and taste n the choices.

The arrangement, above, was done by Lucy Papas. The container had been picked by Vicky, when she thought she would be working in it herself. The materials are fern fronds, variegated New Zealand flax and hydrangeas.

The next, very strong arrangement was made by Bredenia, who found herself out of her comfort zone with this large container and equally large materials. The container was selected by Jenny and was ideal for the tree philodendron (philodendron selloum). The strongly coloured sweet williams were massed behind the leaf on the left.

Jenny's container in the arrangement, below, was chosen by Lucy and worked very well for the hanging branch of viburnum opulus. The roses are 'Queen Elizabeth' and the hydrangea at the back is a white one that has started to change colour.

Christine, also, found herself with a very strong container, selected by Bredenia and strong gymea leaves. She created loosely triangular shapes with the gymeas and repeated the shapes with the finer dietes leaves. In contrast she had very delicate cleome spider flowers.

Akemi had some unknown, light, dry material, which I found in the storeroom and a very strong, doughnut shaped container, chosen by Christine. By concealing the greater part of the container with her material, she reduced its strength and created better balance. The placement of the calla lily leaves complemented the curve of the container and the crucifix orchids added just the right accent.

And last but, by no means, least Vicky battled with large golden elm branches to accentuate their curves. She did this by removing the leaves from one side of each stem, creating more space and emphasising the stem. The heavy, ceramic vase, selected by Akemi, doesn't allow for a horizontal fixture due to its slightly conical shape but Vicky managed to balance the stems in the end. The pink cleomes added the floral accent.

I have to admit, I was very pleased with everyone's work today.

Bye for now,

Emily

7th February, 2021

 

Hello all,

The last few weeks, since my son and his family left us and returned to their home I've been addressing certain chores that I've neglected for far too long. One of those chores was to have my studio painted. The painting part was easy enough because we employed a painter to do it but Sam and I had the Herculean task of removing the hundreds of containers, shelves, tables and paraphernalia that I accumulated for decades. And, then, I had to put it all back, after cleaning and culling as much as the horder in me would allow. I, also, had to go through several boxes of paperwork, throwing away the bulk of it but, in the process, rediscovering little treasures.

In order to tidy up my studio, some things had to go to the storeroom, which is in a much worse state than the studio. I'm still in the process of clearing up down there, which is a really horrible task but, here too, I,m discovering treasures I'd completely forgotten about. One of them was the palm inflorescence in the wall arrangement, above. Although it is quite big now, it was even bigger and had to be reduced for balance. The hydrangeas are the only blue ones left and I had to use all 7 flowers because of the size of the arrangement.

I made this arrangement in mid January and, I have to confess, it's the sort of arrangement that appeals to me quite a lot. So I kept the structure and replaced the flowers as they died. Three weeks later, the umbrella grass stems dried and changed colour. It now had a different, more subdued look, so I replaced the gloriosa lilies with white hydrangeas that are starting to turn green. 

In my last post I made an arrangement that I called 'Lazy Ikebana'. The flowers of the Port St John creeper died  quickly and, rather than put away the structure, it was easier to make another arrangement with it. I wanted to use something up high, so it had to light. I have an abundance of dried agapanthus heads, which I sprayed pink. But, then, I remembered that I don't like pink, so I re-sprayed them blue. I'm not entirely sure I like the blue either but it's better than the pink. Now, I had an arrangement of only dried materials, which makes me uncomfortable. I have to have some fresh material, otherwise, I feel the arrangement looks dead. In the first photograph I used two fresh agapanthus heads but I was not happy because there was not enough contrast between the blue and the green. I then replaced them with three, fresh, white agapanthus, the stems of which I put in water vials. 

Amongst the 'junk' in my studio I found a couple of broken picture frames and I debated weather to throw them away or use them. The latter prevailed. I created one rectangular and one triangular shape intertwined. The slate topped container was made by my brother-in-law, Peter who, clever man that he is, weighted it down with lead to give it more stability. The crocosmia are a soft contrast to the sharp lines of the structure.

For Lunar New Year I made three celebratory arrangements for our neighbours, all three families being Chinese. They, in turn, brought us delicious, traditional Chinese goodies. Every year one of them brings us freshly steamed dumplings and always times them to be ready around dinner time.

In the arrangements I used gold and red colours, as they appear to be popular in Chinese culture. Below is one of them.

My student, Mary, is up to the exercise in Book 3 - 'Colours in Contrast'. She used blue agapanthus and orange dahlias and crocosmia, the two colours being on the opposite sides of the colour wheel.

Bye for now,

Emily