12th September, 2022

Hello all,

For the theme for the advanced students I delved into 'The Fifty Principles of Sogetsu' and chose No. 45

'If the flowers are the main feature, the container should be subordinate to the flowers.Likewise, if the container is the main focus, then the flowers should be secondary to it.'

In my arrangement, above, the flowers and wooden structure are quite dominant, whereas the black suiban, despite its large size, fades into the background.

In my arrangement, below, the opposite is the case. I made the container in my early days of ikebana, before I realised that a very ornate container requires a simple arrangement, therefore, it gets little use.

It does not follow, however, that for this exercise one needs to use an ornate container. My example, below, shows a simple container with subordinate flower and stems.

Jenny's spring flowers were the dominant feature in her arrangement, below. 

Vicky used a heavy, glass vase, dried New Zealand flax and an anthurium. The vase is obviously the dominant feature.

Bredenia, also, chose to feature her ceramic vase by keeping the dietes leaves low and the clivia buds to the back.

Lucy wanted to challenge herself by making both types of arrangements using the same material and the same container. In the first she gave emphasis to the camellia flowers.

....And in the second to the container.

Shaneen's revision lesson was 'In a Suiban without a Kenzan'. Always a challenging exercise but she managed it very well. She used a dark leafed crocosmia, contrasting with the variegated pittosporum and a single Green Goddess lily. The structure was well balanced, without the stems resting against the edges of the container.

Wendy's curriculum lesson was 'Sketching and Arranging', where a student is required to, after studying the material and container, sketch the arrangement they wish to make and, then, make it. All too often, the finished  arrangement is not quite the same as the sketch. But that's OK because it is the exercise that's important, more so than the end result. Wendy used poppies and New Zealand flax.

Mary's curriculum lesson was 'Only One Kind of Material'. In this exercise the choice of material is important as there has to be enough interest in just the one material to create a good ikebana. Luckily, my prunus elvins was in full bloom and fit the bill beautifully and her ceramic container was a perfect match.

Bye for now,

Emily