20th June, 2022

 

Hello all,

Last week's theme for the advanced students was 'Repeating Similar Shapes and Forms', chosen by Bredenia. After 31 years of practicing Ikebana, it's a challenge to come up with new ideas on all these curriculum themes. But I thought a couple of different ones I had not done before. The first is the arrangement, above, in which I stripped strelitzia reginae leaves, leaving just a small part of the leaf to one side. It, then, seemed only right to use the strelitzia flower. I, particularly, like the way the reddish colour of the flower is repeated on the stems of some of the leaves.

Below is my second arrangement. This time I used umbrella grass with the flower head caught into  rough balloon shape. By pulling on one of the leaves, I bent the 'balloons' sideways and made them point in one direction. I was scrambling for flowers in my winter garden and was lucky enough to find these, still viable hydrangeas to complete the arrangement.

Bredenia used birds nest ferns, and partially stripped the stem of the leaf, then curled what was left into a rough cylinder. She used nandina berried in front and back of the arrangement, in a strong, ceramic container.

Jenny used New Zealand flax, knotted at the tips, in a ceramic container with four openings. The bromeliad flower (Billbergia saundersii) added a slash of colour to an otherwise monochrome arrangement.

Nicole used aspidistra leaves curved with the stem fed through the leaf in a trough shaped container. She used a number of the same bromeliad flowers (Billbergia saundersii) to balance the strength of the aspidistras.

Lucy used strands of palm inflorescence and dietes leaves  to create circles in a metal, circular container. The delicate Algerian irises were a contribution by Dianne and, albeit short lived, were ideal to complete the arrangement.

Vicky painstakingly curled a great number of liriope leaves and then unfurled them to cascade down in waves in two, glass vases. She added salvia flowers for colour and form.

Shaneen's lesson was 'In a Suiban without a Kenzan'. She used two, bare, Japanese maple branches and one cotoneaster branch. A good way to test the stability of this type of structure is to lift it out of the suiban and place it on the table, If it stays upright, then it was done correctly. Shaneen's structure passed that test.

Mary's lesson was 'Showing Lines at Base'. She used two branches of my much prised, Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus Mume). This small tree is quite incongruous because it produces delicate, fragrant blossoms at the beginning of winter and, when brought indoors, the tight buds will flower fully. Together with the Dutch iris stems, Mary kept the lines at the base strong and clear of any subordinate materials.

The arrangement, below, is Lei's and the lesson is 'Mass and Line'. She massed the cotoneaster berries, inside an aspidistra leaf and for the line, she stripped a palm frond, leaving the little knobs where the leaves have been.

I leave you with this wall arrangement in which I have used oranges, which are just ripening and  cosmos, which is just finishing. The cane added line and created space.

Bye for now,

Emily