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