Hello all,
The second demonstration was very well attended and, again, my aim was to give the audience an idea of the variety of styles in Sogetsu Ikebana. In the first demo I was assisted by Vicky and in the second by Lucy. They are both experienced ikebanists and excellent assistants. I've always had one or the other helping when I've demonstrated and I don't think I could manage without them.
In my arrangement, above, I placed the orange, metal material around the ceramic container - An example of 'Using Fresh and Unconventional Material'. The pomegranates would have been too heavy for the ceramic container if they were not counterbalanced by the metal piece. I kept the alstroemeria psittacina leaves quite low so as not to obstruct the line of the metal piece.
The next arrangement is a typically winter one. The magnolia branch is bare but alive, requiring water. The Kamo-honnami camellias were the very first to flower and I was keen to use them. I would have liked to have had at least one more so that they would not be an even four but that's all I had. The container is a self made ceramic one.
For the next arrangement I spoke about the source of my inspiration. In this case it was a hand made gift from my youngest granddaughter, Aria. For my recent birthday she gave me a shoe box full of things that she made for me. Amongst them was a heart shape made from pipe cleaners and drinking straws. This gave me the idea to place straws over some natural material. The Siberian dogwood fit the bill very well because of its thin stems.
The arrangement is an example of 'Fresh and Unconventional Materials', as well as 'Repeating Similar Shapes and Forms'.
The next arrangement under the heading of 'Glass Containers' is quite self explanatory. I used a very long New Zealand Flax leaf, which I stripped in half, lengthwise and bent it into the required shape. I, then, trimmed the agapanthus flowerhead, just enough so that it would fit snugly in the narrow container.
I wanted to demonstrate using agave because I like it and have it in abundance. It's a difficult material and I struggled for hours trying to create something interesting with a number of different pieces of this heavy, thorny material. In the end, I gave up on all of them and settled for this, relatively simple arrangement in an aluminium container. I'm grateful to Vicky for supplying the anthurium to finish the arrangement.
I've been keeping an eye on this mahonia stem for some months prior to the demonstration and, when it brought out flowers just in time for the demo, I was thrilled.
The simplicity of the arrangement, however, belies the difficulty in securing the single branch in the upright position without it twisting towards one direction or another. Also, ensuring the stem comes out of the lower opening without resting on the sides is not an easy task. Unfortunately, it is too difficult to photograph or describe the mechanics I employed. You had to be there.
Since its introduction to the curriculum, I've enjoyed making sculptures, both large and small. It would not have been possible to actually construct one during the demonstration, so I made one at home and brought it along to show and discuss how it was made and with what materials. I acknowledged then and am doing so, again, now, the help I got from my brother-in-law, Peter. Any time I have difficulty with constructing my ideas, he is my go-to man.
I used a sheet of stainless steel, bent and then spot welded in place by Peter. What appear to be copper rods going through the stainless steel are, actually, dowels which I sprayed with a copper coloured spray.
Before I end this post, I'd like to thank my student, Lei Wang, who spent an inordinate amount of time photographing and videotaping our exhibition and demonstrations. She has finalised the video and has uploaded it on YouTube. For those interested, here is the link-
https://youtu.be/tBwmogeXUz0.
Bye for now,
Emily
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