24th April, 2023

 

Hello all,

Following on from last week's post regarding the reuse of materials, I had used the monstera deliciosa leaf in the above arrangement twice before. It has outlasted the other materials and is still looking fresh. As a reminder, here are the other two arrangements.

1st arrangement

2nd arrangement

My persimmon tree is wearing its autumn garb and is looking so gorgeous that I'm prepared to forgive it for failing to produce even a single fruit this season.

Persimmon branch and dahlias

Persimmon branch, Japanese anemones and tiny, yellow dahlias

For class last week I had some cuttings of a large yucca (I think it's yucca filamentosa) given to me by cousin Steve. My intention was to give them to the advanced students to workshop them. However, only Vicky made it to class, all the others were away.

My arrangement

Vicky's arrangement

Lei's lesson was 'Me in Ikebana'. She used pittosporum branch and pale pink cane begonia. She explained that the begonia flowers, hidden inside the arrangement, represent her own shyness and desire to be out of the spotlight.

Wendy's lesson was 'With Branches Only'. She used Sasanqua camellia branches and a cotoneaster branch with berries.

Dianne's lesson was 'Colours in a Similar Tonal Range'. She used leucadendrons, dahlias and Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii). This material is gorgeous but extremely thorny. Gloves are a must when handling it.

Mary has started Book 5, lesson one of which is 'Seasonal Materials'.In this theme we must choose materials that are available only in the current season. Flowers that are available all year round at the florists' are not suitable. Equally, flowers such as roses which can flower for three seasons are not to be used. Mary used a branch from my persimmon tree, dahlias and amaranthus.

Bye for now,

Emily

WASTE NOT......

 

Hello all,

In ikebana we are encouraged to cut materials conservatively, to use as much of the cut materials as possible and to reuse whenever possible. In other words, waste not, want not.

I had kept the lower parts of the palm fronds that Lucy and I had used in our exhibit at MIFGS and tried to find a way to use them. Hence the arrangement, above. The hydrangeas were originally white but have changed to a rich, orangy red colour.

With another piece of the lower part of the palm frond I created the arrangement, below. I put a great deal of effort to bend the spine of the frond which is very strong indeed. Unfortunately, the curve is concealed by the hanging amaranthus. Three more hydrangeas completed the arrangement.

I created the arrangement below to showcase my haemanthus lilies. Unfortunately their short stems make them somewhat challenging to arrange. This is what I came up with.

Haemanthus lilies

The lilies are relatively short lived compared to the monstera deliciosa leaf. So, when they died I reused the leaf in a new arrangement using Japanese anemones and two fine sticks for line.

My Japanese anemones (Eriocapitella hupehensis) are looking particularly beautiful this year. The clump in the photo, below, is outside Sam's office window.

Yesterday was Orthodox Easter, so last week, in preparation for Sunday's celebrations the grandchildren and I dyed eggs in bright, shiny colours. It was a bit messy but fun was had by all particularly by the boy whose capacity for silliness is endless. 

I made the traditional Easter bread (Tsureki) without the 'help' of the grandkids. This can be quite a delicate operation requiring careful handling of the dough, which has to prove not once but twice. We all use our mother's recipe and we all had great success this year. The trouble is that they are so delicious that resistance is futile. Below are two of mine. 

I wanted to use my brightly coloured eggs in an Easter arrangement. This platter with holes in it is very convenient for holding the eggs. In the centre hole I placed a small vase to hold the flowers and fern. I chose Japanese anemones for the flowers in an Easter arrangement because, although they flower in autumn, they look like spring flowers and I tend to associate Easter with spring in northern hemisphere. When I finished the arrangement the large surface of the plate looked a little bare, so I introduced the gold coloured, wisteria vine.

Mary's theme was 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. She used Siberian dogwood (Cornus Siberica Alba) and long stemmed dahlias in a ceramic suiban.

Mary, also, did an arrangement 'With Vines'. She used dried wisteria vines and lisianthus in a ceramic vase.

Bye for now, 
Emily

10th April, 2023

 

Hello all,

I have often bemoaned the loss of fruit from our various trees to the local fauna. Our crabapple tree was completely denuded, of both fruit and leaves. Our heirloom apples were eaten despite my covering each cluster with a plastic bag. I'm suspecting rats for this. As for our young nectarine tree, the fruit disappeared in one night. For this I suspect bats. However, my pomegranates have been left alone, so far. I decided to cut as many as I can manage to arrange before the possums become aware of them.

In the arrangement, above, with the pomegranates, I used one of my self seeded amaranthus and the wisteria I had pruned recently.

In the large, wall arrangement, below, I used a whole bunch of the pomegranates with leucodendrons and hydrangeas.

For class I had set a double theme for the advanced students - 'Tsubo Vases' and 'Green Materials'. In this lesson we look to create interest with our selection of materials. Even though  they all have to be green, there is variety within the green colour spectrum as well as in the textures and sizes of the material. 

For my example I used  my Japanese anemones, after the white petals and yellow stamens had dropped, leaving clusters of little green balls. I added Pinellia pedatisecta leaves and green oranges in a ceramic, tsubo vase.

Nicole used cotoneaster branches, agapanthus umbels and immature privet berries in a ceramic tsubo vase.

Vicky used apple branches, hydrangeas that had turned pale green and diosma.

We were not able to identify Lucy's branches but they had an interesting texture. She also used fern fronds and aeoniums in her newly acquired, ceramic tsubo vase.

Wendy's curriculum theme was 'With Leaves Only' She used a strelitzia nicolai leaf, canna lily leaves to the back, cordylines and 'Arum Italicum pictum' leaves in a ceramic vase.

Lei's curriculum lesson was 'Specific Scenes, Occasions or Spaces'. She chose to make an Easter arrangement. She created a bird cage like structure using spear grass in a porcelain container with holes all around its rim. She added ferns and rose hips as well as little Easter eggs.

Shaneen's theme was 'Floor Position Arrangement'. She used golden diosma, statice, succulent flowers and a cluster of unidentified, pink flowers in a tall, ceramic vase.

Mary's theme was 'Disassembling and Rearranging the Material'. She used large fern fronds from which she stripped the little leaves leaving the 'spine'. She arranged them on a kenzan in a suiban and arranged the leaves below them giving the impression that they fell. The rosebud added a little colourful accent.

Bye for now,

Emily

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show

 

Hello all,

Last week was the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS). A big event in the Melbourne callender, with local exhibitors and guests, as well as from interstate and overseas.

Since 2007 I have exhibited almost every year on my own (except for the help from my family) in the Shop Window Competition. This year I took a break from that because I wasn't up to it, physically. However, I agreed to do the Sogetsu component of the Ikebana International Exhibit together with Lucy. The two of us work well as a team and have a similar aesthetic, making for a harmonious collaboration. The photograph, above, is of our installation.

Our theme was 'Sustainable and Local'. We all tried to use materials that were found or were used before. In our case three of the palm pods that we used had been left at my doorstep by our cousin Nick, having fallen from his palm trees.The others I had in my storeroom. Some of them had been used before. There is a very heavy, stainless steel rod with a square base inside the vertical pod holding everything up. I bought it a couple of years ago at a metal recycling outlet, thinking that it would come in handy some day and it did.

Below is the Ikebana International  exhibit comprising of installations by the five schools. You will notice the yellow chrysanthemums, being the common element linking the very disparate arrangements

Ikenobo School 

Shogetsudo Koryu School

Ichiyo School

Ohara School (I apologise for the poor quality of the backdrop)

We were very proud to receive a silver medal in our category. On Wednesday morning we had an informal meeting in front of our site attended by a number of people, where each team leader gave a brief speech explaining how they interpreted the theme of 'Sustainability and Local'. We were honoured by a visit of the Japanese Consul General and his wife, Mr and Mrs Shimada and Mr Michael Warner, Chairman of MIFGS.

Bye for now,

Emily