31st October, 2022

Hello all,

My clematis was particularly prolific this year, despite the constant, relentless rain and I was able to cut enough flowers to make the arrangement, above. I've reached a point, after so many years of practice, where I make my arrangements instinctively, without thinking about a particular theme, unless it is for a class lesson. However, after completing a piece, I sometimes think about which theme it falls under. In this case, 'Using Only One Kind of Material', 'Wall Arrangement', 'To be Viewed from Below' and 'Colour of the Container'. Although, in the photograph, the mauve tones of the container are not visible.

The rain has done a great deal of damage to much of our spring flowering plants but it seems churlish to complain when people across the country are suffering floods and losses beyond measure. Our thoughts are with them.

The rain was, also, responsible for the sight, below.  One could be forgiven for thinking it had snowed all over my compost bins. In fact, they are the flowers of my snow ball tree (Viburnum Opulus), whose branches hang over the bins.

On Saturday our group had the pleasure of a Guest presenter, Yoshiro Umemura (Yosh) to run a day of workshops. Yosh, who is based in Sydney, has been coming almost every year and we've become quite fond of him. More importantly, we always learn something new at his workshops.

The two themes that were selected were 'Basic Upright Nageire' and 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. No matter our level of expertise, I believe it is necessary, periodically, to go back to basics. 

My arrangement, below, is 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. I used large branches of Portugal Laurel (prunus lusitanica) with flower spikes in bud. I photographed it when I brought it home and, with the luxury of more time, I refined it a little and added a third strelitzia.

Here's a material that is too tough to be affected by rain. It is the Soap Aloe (Aloe Maculata). These particular plants are growing on an embankment, making it a little difficult to access but we, ikebanists, are not easily deterred. 

At our last class Wendy's lesson was 'Using two or more Containers'. She used salvias, viburnum opulus and azaleas in a mauve coloured, glass bowl and vase.

Lei's lesson was 'Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials'. She scrunched up some lamp shade material and added fresh, green,plant materials in a large, split continer.

Shaneen, who has just started book 5, made a 'Seasonal Arrangement'. She used a number of spring  materials from her impressive garden.

I leave you with this next arrangement, featuring my one and only peony flower. I have a number of plants, stubbornly refusing to flower, except for this tree peony, which produced one flower. Cause for celebration!

Bye for now,

Emily

24th October, 2022

Hello all,

The arrangement, above, requires no explanation. I simply used two of my favourite materials, wisteria and Altissimo roses, in my self made vases.

I began the class last week by demonstrating the traditional way of arranging flag iris. This is quite prescriptive and there are many rules but the end result is of a beautiful, naturalistic arrangement. I used one stem of blue and one of white iris and leaves. I finished it with two sprigs of Japanese maple.

There are some relatively young, golden ash trees in Lucy's street, which had been pruned recently and Lucy collected a car full of cuttings for all the students to use in class. Opportunities like this must be taken advantage of, as it allows people to use materials that they may not, otherwise, have a chance to use.

My arrangement, below, is in a large, heavy, glass container allowing for part of the stems to be inside while the bulk of them is outside. My strelitzia plants are producing quite a few flowers and, I think, they work well with the up-side-down branches.

Vicky placed her branches up-side-down, also, in two ceramic vases and stunning, Altissimo roses.

Jenny challenged herself by creating the lesson 'In a suiban without a kenzan'. It's not visible in the photo but her branches are well balanced without resting against the wall of the container.

Because Bredenia's branch was long but not very full, she added a smaller branch to the top part to add volume. In her tall, ceramic vase she used euphorbia and chrysanthemums to complete the arrangement.

Nicole also joined two branches to create volume and added nandina domestica nana in a mass. She tried adding more floral materials but they looked superfluous. All the colours work so well that, we felt, there was no need for anything more.

Lucy's arrangement was, also, quite big. With her branch she used giant euphorbias and waratahs. A teenage boy in her street, whose family has a farm, sells the waratahs to raise money for his school. 

Mary's curriculum lesson was 'Vegetables and/or Fruit in an Arrangement'. She used a large skewer through the leek, which she inserted into a kenzan. Once the leek was stable the other vegetables were easy to secure.

Vicky brought me a large branch from her deciduous, white dogwood, which looks absolutely stunning when in flower. I rushed to make an arrangement because they are a bit past their best. Lucy's waratahs came in very handy. The dogwood flowers look as though they need thinning. I'm here to tell you that I removed a large number of them and, to prove it, there's the photo, below.

Bye for now,

Emily

Weekend Workshops

 

Hello all,

First and foremost, an announcement:

The Ikebana International Melbourne Committee is pleased to present our first Online Exhibition. 

This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnsuFmXNDjE

On Saturday I attended an Ikebana International workshop run by Naomi Cullen, Head of Ichio school of Ikebana. The theme she chose was 'Ikebana Using Vegetables'. She demonstrated three arrangements using vegetables as well as other plant materials. 

In the Sogetsu curriculum we have a lesson 'Fruit and Vegetables' and, as a Sogetsu teacher, I felt I had to keep to the teachings of our school. I made the arrangement, above, using fruit and vegetables. I had fun injecting a bit of whimsy using this quirky, resin container.

On Sunday I conducted a workshop at The Bulleen Art and Garden Centre. It was attended by a group of interested and engaged ladies. I demonstrated the Basic Upright Moribana arrangement, the very first lesson in the Sogetsu curriculum. I provided materials, kenzans and containers for the participants to, then, make their own arrangement. I always enjoy introducing ikebana to people who know nothing about it and am often pleasantly surprised at how well they do on their very first try. 

I took along three different arrangements as a very small sample of the vast array of styles in Sogetsu ikebana.

Miniatures seem to have a universal appeal.

I confess, I make a version of this arrangement in my self made container almost every spring.

I reworked this large arrangement by replacing the green goddess lilies in the original
version with snow ball flowers (viburnum opulus)

Mary's curriculum lesson was 'Disassembling and rearranging the material'. She used arum lilies, removing the spathe (the leaf-like curved bract) from each and massing them in the larger opening of this triangular container. She then placed the stems with the spadix on the opposite opening.

Mary did not take her arrangement home, as she usually does because the spathes would have died quickly since they could not reach the water. Looking at it in my studio, I realised that the dead flowers in the garden, which I would have to remove and discard, could be another resource once the spathes were removed. So, using Mary's original idea I extended it to the arrangement, below.

I've been playing around with simplified arrangements. This next one started with this translucent, resin container I bought recently. When I brought it into my studio, I noticed the green goddess lily in 'the bucket' almost calling to me. Usually simplified arrangements are small but this is an example of a large one.

Then I challenged myself to create a simplified arrangement from a large, ceder branch (Cedrus deodara) with one cone on it. I removed all but one tuft of needles and the cone and placed the stem in a stainless steel container.

And last but not least, it can't be spring without a wisteria arrangement. My wisteria has been disappointing to date, with very few flowers. This year she has produced a few more and, if she continues this way, she might be allowed to live.

Wisteria and rhododendron in self made container

Bye for now,

Emily

10th October, 2022

 

Hello all,

My friend, Merryl, surprised me with two branches of contorted hazel (Corylus avellana 'contorta'). This shrub is very slow growing, so, to get such branches is a real treat. I have one in my garden but I use it very sparingly. 

The arrangement, above, looks simple enough but it did require some mechanics to secure such tall stems just on a kenzan. The photograph, below, shows the main  branch, which had two stems coming from the centre creating a 'fork'. I shortened the main stem and hammered it into the kenzan. But the weight of the branch could not be supported by the kenzan alone. By placing a horizontal fixture over the 'fork' part of the branch and catching it under the rim of the container, I was able to stabilise the main branch. Then, the rest of the materials were supported by the main branch.

For class last week I set the theme 'A spring Arrangement' in a nageire vase. For my example I tried to challenge myself and added a degree of difficulty by making it with a 'Variety of Materials'. Another reason for this is the abundance of gorgeous, spring materials in my garden, seven different types of which I used in my arrangement.

The new growth on deciduous trees or shrubs can, often, wilt as soon as it is cut. One method that usually helps to prevent this from happening is to cut the stem under water and scrape about 1 to 2 inches from the bottom of the stem before placing in the arrangement. See photo below.

My next arrangement came about because a branch of my very old lilac broke off. I was lucky to notice it before it died. What's left of the lilac is little more than a shrub but it holds a special place in my heart. Mum and dad had bought it for us, knowing how much I loved it and that it reminded me of the tree outside the kitchen of our home in Greece. The container, a special keepsake, originally belonged to my friend, Gwen Delves.

Shaneen's class theme was 'Seasonal Materials'. This is identical to the spring arrangement, however, she was not required to use a nageire container. There were five different materials in her arrangement.

Vicky used her extraordinary vase and kept the arrangement simple, using viburnum plicatum tomentosum and Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis - apple blossom).

Bredenia used a stunning stem of flowering crabapple, azalea and green goddess lilies in a heavy, ceramic vase.

Lei's curriculum theme was 'Fruit and Vegetables'. She used celery, a pumpkin and some radishes peeking out of the ceramic container. The bamboo mats completed the arrangement.

Wendy's revision theme was Ka-bu-Wa-ke. This arrangement is made in a suiban with two kenzans on which the materials are inserted. It is important to leave a space between the Kabu or groups and to take care in covering the kenzans. Wendy used arum lilies, California poppies and azalea.

Mary's exercise was a 'Simplified Arrangement'. She used a camellia stem and a cumquat stem, both of which were trimmed down to their basest elements. The stunning container was perfect for the arrangement. As simple as this looks, I'd like to point out that mechanics had to be employed to stop the heavy cumcut from resting on the container.

Bye for now,

Emily

IKEBANA FOR GIFT GIVING

Hello all,

Last Monday I ran a workshop for our Sogetsu group, the theme of which was 'Ikebana for Gift Giving'. In this exercise the primary focus was on fixings or mechanics, which will allow for the arrangement to be safely transported. I demonstrated 4 different techniques for securing the materials and had as an example the arrangement, above. The container was designed as a candle holder but, because there was enough room for water at the bottom, I used it for ikebana.

I give ikebana arrangements as gifts to most friends on special occasions or when visiting. Over the years I developed some techniques to help secure the materials making it possible to transport them.

The photo, below, shows an arrangement in a tsubo vase. I used a cross fixture, which I wired together at the meeting point of the two sticks. I then wired onto the sticks the sprayed, magnolia branch. The cross fixture divided the opening into 4 segments, I placed all the flowers and leaves into one segment at the back. This served to create some space on the side of the container as well as making a tight fit. I, also, wired the first two lilies onto each other and then onto the cross fixture. The rest of the lilies wedged in and stayed in place. After replacing the lilies for fresh ones, this arrangement ended up at my friend Erica's place. I knew the drama of the black and white would appeal to her.

The next arrangement is obviously a Christmas one but, by removing the baubles on the side, can be given for Luna New Year. We have Chinese neighbours on all three sides, for whom I like to make festive looking arrangements. Red and gold seem to be auspicious colours. I placed a vertical stick with side shoots at the top, which I cut to fit tightly into my vase. The side shoots divided the space into segments and, by placing all of the material in one segment, they stayed securely. If I had used the vertical fixture with a split, as we are instructed in our books, the movement of the car could easily dislodge it.

Mahonia, Rhododendron, Night flowering jasmine berries and baubles

In the next arrangement, I used another stick with side shoots cut to wedge tightly, this time at the bottom of the container. The top of the stick extended beyond the vase and I was able to wire my materials onto it and, then, cut off the excess.

Sprayed contorted hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta'), pine and anthuriums

In my spring arrangement, below, I used florists' foam, which is the easiest was to secure the materials. Some care needs to be taken, however, not to pierce it too many times by putting materials in and out. I suggested to the group to bring a kenzan on which they could practice the placement of materials before committing them to the florists' foam. It is, also, important to cut the foam slightly larger than the container, so that it will wedge in tightly. It is, also, very important to conceal the florists' foam. In this case I used baby tears (Soleirolia soleirolii).

Viburnum plicatum tomentosum, rhododendron and baby tears

Christopher has, yet again, posted photographs from the workshop and you can see them by clicking on Sogetsu Victoria, then click on Recent Workshops.

Dianne's Vertical Arrangement (first lesson in Book 3) was made with prunus branches in bud and camellias in a delightful, ceramic container.

Mary's arrangement was 'With Flowers Only'. She used lisianthus, cottage gladioli and Singapore orchids in a ceramic suiban.

I've been watching the large orchid in the next arrangement very carefully, not to let the pesky slugs get to it. And, when I finally cut it, I wanted to show it at its best. Cymbidium orchids have the tendency to look downwards, so placing it high in this wall arrangement means that it can be seen from the best vantage point. There is, also, a darker, smaller orchid stem to the back. The stems of the Cornus Siberica alba still have some maroon colouring, which is a delightful contrast to the lime green, new leaves and which is picked up by the orchids.

Bye for now,

Emily