3rd July, 2023

 RESCUED FROM THE RUBBISH HEAP

Hello all,

As I mentioned previously, we are in the process of preparing our house for sale. One of the most difficult tasks is to get rid of the clutter in my store rooms. Or, at least, decrease it. I had taken out and placed on the lawn a great number of dried and unconventional materials. Some were sold and others were to be thrown away. Do you think I could do it??? As I picked each one to put in the bin, I imagined what I could do with it.

The first one was a thick piece of dried, weeping mulberry (photo above). I brought it into the studio and balanced it on top of the ceramic container. I chose camellia branches because they are in flower and because they have a relatively thin stem, which could fit in the small opening of the container.

Then I picked dried, sprayed corky elm branches that were wired together in a particular shape. I cut away the wire and re-arranged them in a sweeping motion in a modern, lacquered suiban. My son's neighbours very kindly allowed me to cut some of their proteas, which were, then, added to the structure.

I had some enormous, dried strelitzia nicolai leaves, from which I cut away most of the material, leaving two, small curved pieces on a short stem. The two, metal, conical containers with a number of holes, were quite convenient. This red camellia is a favourite of mine and I will attempt to dig it up and take it when we leave. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it survives.

There were piles of wisteria vines to be thrown away, amongst which was this little piece. All it needed was a vase and this camellia looking up through the round 'window'.

In the next arrangement, I used a piece of plastic, fluorescent light cover, which I had distorted using a heat gun. I had done this a very long time ago and I had intended to throw out but, I thought, it deserved one more use. It sat around the studio for a number of weeks because I couldn't decide what flower to use with it. I discovered this large, green goddess lily beside the rainwater tank and immediately thought of my plastic material.

Yesterday I pruned the roses. It is July after all. Amongst the prunnings was this small piece of iceberg rose stem that I could not discard. It has enough character and drama to make an arrangement on its own.

Mary's class theme was a 'Floor Arrangement'. She chose the position under the staircase in which to place her arrangement. She used a heavy, nageire container and Japanese flowering apricot branches (prunus mume) and disbud chrysanthemums. 

Bye for now,

Emily