EMILY IN TOKYO: 14th November, 2022

Hello all,

Well, we're home with all that that entails. It was by far the most relaxing holiday we ever had. There are many interesting tours available in Port Douglas but we avoided all of them, having done them before.and chose, instead, to relax at the villa, swim in our private pool and EAT a lot. We will pay the price for that vice later.

In my previous post I lamented the fact that I'm surrounded by some of the best tropical materials but could not use them for ikebana. As luck would have it, on one of our walks around the grounds, we came across prunnings from several palm trees....

The temptation was just too great and I gave into it. Of course, I had my accomplice, my longsuffering, ikebana husband, to help carry some of the cuttings to our villa. Without any tools, except for a kitchen knife, it was challenging to make arrangements but I did my best. Luckily, there was a large white bowl in the kitchen and an empty vase on the bench, both of which came in very handy.

The materials are palm spathes and inflorescence, on the above arrangement the fruit are quite mature, whereas in the photo below, the inflorescence is in what looks like buds. They are both very heavy and tough to penetrate. I tried using one of the needles from the sewing kit provided, but the stem was too woody and the needle broke.

I placed the arrangements in front of the flat screen TV, using it as a backdrop for my photos. Some green leaves would have improved the arrangements but, even as they are, making them satisfied the need I had to get my hands on some tropical material. I was suffering withdrawal symptoms.

Walking down the shopping strip, I noticed this stunning iris-like flower. I looked it up and it is called Travelling Iris (Neomarica) but is not really an iris. The flowers grow at the end of a stalk, which then bends to the ground and sets roots. Hence the name 'Traveling Iris'.

The flowers seem to be growing at
the tips of leaves.

So back to ikebana.

For our last class I had set the theme for the advanced students of 'Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials'. This is always a fun exercise and we all enjoyed it.

Jenny used a whole box of coloured pencils, wired into triangles and, then, joined them into a structure attaching it to a triangular, ceramic container. The arum lilies added height as well as the fresh materials.

Vicky used thick silver wire wound into spiral, spring like structures and placed them in a ceramic container the shape of a cube. She retained the asymmetry by making the 'springs' different size and by placing one green goddess lily in one and two in the other.

The class was the day before we were to leave for our trip, so I was quite time poor. So, for my arrangement, I decided to go into my storeroom and to pick the first unconventional material that I saw and work with that. That turned out to be this bright green, shiny roll of foil with the reverse side in dull yellow.

Then a quick look around for the fresh materials. The loquats picked up the yellow of the foil very well, as did the spuria iris. The mass of white ornithogalums added depth to the back as well as contrast for the other materials. The black vase is glass and has an oval shape.

Shaneen took advantage of the small window of opportunity, whilst iris are available, to do the iris lesson in Book 5. She employed the traditional method of arranging flag iris, with her stunningly beautiful, dark purple blooms and many leaves, as well as a little sprig of Japanese maple.

Wendy's curriculum lesson was 'To be Viewed from all Sides'. The pink flowering branch is called 'buckeye' or 'horse chestnut'. The genus is Aesculus. She also used Portugal laurel and cottage gladioli in a ceramic, oval shaped vase.

Lei's lesson was 'Focusing on Water'. She used a large suiban and placed a strelitzia reginae flower and leaf diagonally over the top, creating shadows and reflections over the water. The smaller leaves are pinellia tripartita.