LUCY'S DEMONSTRATION AT LABASSA

Lucy's and my piece

Hello all,

First of all, a quick announcement - Our Sogetsu group will have our annual exhibition -

Dates:  Saturday, 30th September and Sunday, 1st October.

Hours: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm Saturday and Sunday

Venue: Linen Room, Abbotsford Convent

             1 St Heliers St., Abbotsford

The previous weekend our Ikebana International group held its annual exhibition with the theme - 'Sustainable and Local', encouraging us to reuse materials and to source locally. 

The exhibition was held in the opulent, Victorian era mansion called Labassa. This building is owned by the National Trust and its exquisite interiors and furnishings required us to exercise great care when placing our arrangements so as not to do any damage.

On the Saturday, our Lucy conducted two demonstrations, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I had the honour of assisting her. Both sessions were booked out and the feedback from the audience was emphatically positive.

Below are her 12 arrangements.

Self made, bamboo container and camellias

Bamboo and leucadendron flowers

Contorted hazel and jasmine

Elm branches and clivias

Umbrella grass and Christmas baubles

Fruit and Vegetables arrangement

Contorted hazel, cymbidium orchids and alstroemeria psittacina leaves

Palm spathe and green goddess lilies

Palm fronds, strelitzia reginae flowers and statice

Agave and aeoniums

Dried, coloured branches and Dutch iris

Self made, metal structure with metal tubing, dried, coloured branch and rhododendrons

Bye for now,

Emily

DEMONSTRATION FOR GRADE ONERS

 

Hello all,

Last week I had the pleasure of demonstrating for all the grade one students at my grandkids' primary school. Apparently, Aria had spoken about me at school and her teacher thought it would be interesting for the children to have me demonstrate ikebana to them. She explained that they have been discussing how different cultures communicate through their art.

I took this assignment very seriously, tailoring the arrangements to this age group. I chose simple arrangements that would be quick to complete and have maximum impact. I was concerned that, with their short attention span, they would be bored and distracted. But I needn't have worried. They were very interested and extremely well behaved. They wanted to ask questions and make comments but did so without calling out, instead waiting patiently with hand up until I noticed them. Vicky, my assistant, and I were very impressed with their behaviour and their input. The fifty minutes went by very quickly and Aria's class, which was last to leave were brimming with questions and comments, with their teacher having difficulty herding them back to class. All in all, a most enjoyable experience.

At the top of this page is one of the arrangements I made and below are the rest.

Umbrella grass and camellias in self made, ceramic container

Arum lilies in self made container

Weeping willow and cymbidium orchid

Silver birch branches and clivias

New Zealand flax seed pods and strelitzia reginae in self made
container

Wired jonquil leaves and clivia

Bye for now,

Emily

MASTERCLASS #18

Hello all,

Firstly I'd like to apprise you of an of exhibition coming up. Our Ikebana International group is exhibiting Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th September at Labassa Mansion, 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North.

1) Saturday 16th September 

Session 1 - 10:00 am to 1:00 pm with a demo by Lucy Papas at 11:00 am 

Session 2 -  1:00 pm  to 4:00 pm with a demo by Lucy Papas at 2:00 pm

You and your family/friends can book tickets online. Ticket includes a demonstration. Select 'Ikebana members' when you purchase a discounted 

ticket via the link below.

 Admission:

 $15 for I.I. members 

 $26.84 for non-I.I. members

 $26.84 Bundle Ticket for I.I. members

 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/labassa-ikebana-demonstrations-2023-tickets-686339468827?aff=odcleoeventsincollection&keep_tld=1

 2) Sunday 17th September 10:30 am - 4:00 pm

You and your family/friends can book tickets online. Please select 'Ikebana members' when you purchase a discounted ticket via the link below.

  Admission:

  $10 for I.I. members 

   $15 for non-I.I. members 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/labassa-ikebana-open-day-2023-tickets-687040545767?aff=odcleoeventsincollection&keep_tld=1

Please note that our Lucy will be the demonstrator and I will assist her. I hope to see you there.

At Saturday's Masterclass I had provided all of us with large branches of silver birch. It was a lucky find after some trees had been pruned and the branches were to be mulched.

I set the exercise from Book 5 - 'Composition with branches - A Two Step Approach'. In this exercise we first create a free standing structure using cut branches. We, then, use the structure with a container and fresh materials to complete the composition. We use various methods of fixing, such as nails, screws and wire. I demonstrated for the students how to make angles by cutting the thicker parts of the branches diagonally and then rejoining them.

Once the structures were completed and critiqued, I instructed the students to select a container from the shelves and then go into the garden and cut whatever they wanted to complete their composition.

Below is my free standing structure and above is the completed arrangement. The large, ceramic container is doughnut shaped but I chose to use it sideways for this application.

Cym's free standing structure.

And the final piece

Lei's structure

And her final piece

Jenny's structure

And her finished piece

Vicky chose to keep her long branches uncut and, instead, incorporated the finer, pendulous stems of the birch by intertwining them.

And with the addition of a ceramic container and arum lilies.

Bye for now,

Emily

 

At last month's Ikebana International meeting I won a bunch of gypsophila in the raffle. I don't use this material very often so I welcomed the opportunity to have a play with it but I didn't have the time to come up with some creative way of using it. So, I used the large bunch in a mass and line arrangement. The thick, branch is of tortuous willow, from which I removed the bark, then sprayed black. The camellias are Kamo-hon-ami.

Last Saturday our Sogetsu group had a special workshop with a guest presenter - Elin Dahlin from Stockholm, Sweden. Elin set us the theme 'Sculptural Arrangement using a combination of Vegetables/Fruit' and 'Unconventional Materials'. We were to bring containers and the unconventional materials. The fruit and vegetables were to be provided. We each received a combination of fruit and vegetables with which to work and it was up to us to decide how much or how little to use.

I chose to make a more sculptural piece using some flashing material and added two cherry tomatoes and two small, yellow capsicums. I chose the ceramic container for its metallic  patina.

Having finished early and at Elin's suggestion, I made another arrangement, using some of my leftover materials and a container I had brought along for choice. My unconventional material was a ribbon made of metal mesh. I used a custard apple, cherry tomatoes and a green chilli, which, by the way, is not resting on the rim of the container.

Christopher will, in due course, post details and photographs of the workshop in our blog Sogetsu Ikebana Victoria.

Below are a few arrangements I made just because I had the materials in my garden and couldn't bear not to use them.

Wall arrangement with leucadendrons

Original Arrangement, Magnolia soulangeana, cymbidium orchid and port st John creeper leaves

One day later

Japanese flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and camelia

Contorted hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') and arum lilies in self made container

I'd like to share with you the process of making my next, simple looking arrangement. I've been watching my prunus elvins as it came into bud and is about explode with blossoms. I found an interesting branch and removed subordinate stems leaving the strong angle and just two finer stems with flowers. I chose a container that, I thought, would be suitable.

The container is too narrow for a kenzan to fit and hold up the branch, so I had to come up with a different fixing device. I cut a strip of bamboo the length of the container. I chose bamboo because it is strong as well as flat and screwed it onto the branch.

Imagine my chagrin when I realised my mistake. The opening of the container was too small for the bamboo strip to fit through. 

On to plan B. I unscrewed the bamboo and replaced it with a much narrower one, which had some bend to it. It took some effort to bend it and get it inside but I managed it.

The branch held securely and I, now, needed to find a suitable flower to go with it. I picked two arum lilies, which I had manipulated to create curves. I figured one of them would do but, no, they were both unsuitable. One of them faced downwards and the other towards the back.

On to plan C. I looked for camellia stems with some angle or curve to suit my branch. The first one I tried failed miserably. 

And on to plan D. This time a much more careful selection of a camellia stem. Trimming off superfluous leaves and stems, it was looking good. Now, how to secure it without a kenzan. My trusty screw driver was on hand and I screwed the camellia stem to the prunus stem. Finally, I dusted the  cut edges with dark eye shadow to take away the rawness of them.

....and the final result -

I should point out that the camellia sits forward, in front of the prunus.

Bye for now,

Emily