30TH SEPTEMBER, 2024

 

Hello all,

Lara Telford ran our recent Sogetsu workshop and she set the theme of 'Asymmetry'. Please go to Sogetsu Victoria  and click on Recent Workshops for more information and photographs of Lara's work as well as those of the members.

Mine is the arrangement, above. The dried material is from a xanthorrhoea  that had died and the camellia is Kamo Hon Ami. The asymmetry is quite obvious. However, Lara introduced a concept that we had not heard of before and that is 'Symmetrical Asymmetry'. I know, that sounds like an oxymoron but the way Lara explained it, it made sense. The arrangement is to have materials of equal size and volume on either side of the centre but the materials are to be different. I did not have materials for that kind of arrangement but I wanted to try it when I got home, hence the arrangement, below. I used magnolia soulangeana and loquat branches and some alstroemeria psittacina leaves in a self made container.

A month later, I set this theme to my advanced students. After a few protests and some grumbling, they managed quite well.

In my arrangement for the lesson I used umbrella grass with trimmed leaves, green goddess lilies and a sprig of Japanese flowering apricot in a ceramic container. 

Jenny used arum lilies and Japanese maple in a triangular, ceramic container.          

Lucy used a fan palm and a monstera deliciosa leaf in a strong nageire container. The vibrant colour of the two stems of clivias balanced the strength of the leaves and container.

Shaneen mixed exotics with native in this arrangement - cherry blossoms on one side and callistemon on the other. The bluebells added an accent of colour.

 Vicky used kiwi vine, green goddess lilies and one bluebell.

Nicole's arum lilies and leaves created the symmetrical asymmetry and she added a sprig of Dusty Miller (Jacobaea maritima) in a ceramic suiban.

Mary used a tsubo vase into which she placed a confer branch on one side and a philodendron that was trimmed on the other. Both materials were very strong and the iris japonica added lightness.

Lei's class theme was 'Preparing for a Future Exhibition'. In a round,metal container she placed leucadendrons, following the curve of the container and cymbidium orchids.

Dianne's class theme was 'Vines'. She used wisteria and clematis for the vines and the most magnificent magnolia for the colour accent.

Bye for now,

Emily

MASTERCLASS #25

 

Hello all,

For the Masterclass on Saturday, I provided each of the students with a large  mahonia branch and a container. The flowers, however, were different for each student.

I usually challenge myself at each such lesson by, also, making an arrangement with the same theme as the rest of the class. In this case I did not have time to make it before class, so I did it when the students had left. Mine is the arrangement, above. 

Below is the mahonia branch in its original state. I removed more than half of the foliage and stems. The students were given similar branches and, they too, had to trim a great deal to reveal the beauty of the stems.

Lei's dramatic arrangement, below, comprised of the stem and one leaf of her mahonia branch. She massed the arum lilies, with one bud following the line of the stem.

Jenny got out of her comfort zone and turned her branch up-side-down over the spherical container. She, then, lifted the leaves and caught them in a balloon shape, exposing the inflorescence 'skirt'. I had provided her with camellias but she felt and I agreed, that they were not necessary.

Vicky trimmed all the leaves from the right side of the branch, leaving only the left side ones and making the arrangement look windswept. Peaking through the leaves were two rhododendron flowers.

Cym's mahonia branch was considerably smaller than the rest, so her arrangement was smaller. She trimmed the leaves, revealing the stems and then caught them in two, opposing bunches. The single clivia added colour and contrast.

Lucy, also, had to trim heavily to expose the angles of the stem. The large, ceramic container has a rather small opening but Lucy was a able to work out the mechanics required to hold the stem upright. Such a strong arrangement required equally strong flowers and, I believe, the red rhododendrons fit the bill perfectly.

Students are only required to bring their cutters to Masterclass, as I provide everything else. This time, however, I instructed them to also bring a pair of sturdy gloves because the mahonia is extremely prickly. 

I have to admit that I am particularly proud of the work that these girls have produced. With each month they seem to be going from strength to strength.

Bye for now,

Emily

LABASSA DEMONSTRATION

 

Hello all,

As I had announced in my previous post, I conducted a demonstration at Labassa mansion on Saturday as part of our Ikebana International exhibition there.

The photograph, above, is of a simple arrangement with arum lilies that create an optical illusion giving the impression that the stems weave in and out of the holes of the self made, ceramic container.

The next arrangement was an homage to Norman Sparnon. When I joined the ikebana community 34 years ago, Mr. Sparnon had retired but on two occasions he had come to Melbourne for workshops with the Sogetsu group. I felt quite privileged to witness his demonstrations, one of which was with pussy willow which he had bent to create the curves that I now replicated. He had used tulips with the pussy willow but mine are past their best, so I opted for rhododendrons.

In my next arrangement I used part of an obi, the rest of which I made into cushions for my bed. I used clivia flowers and berries. The wisteria vine, that I had planned to use, was forgotten at home, so I had to improvise and used a couple of black canes for line.

And this is what it should have looked like.

In my next arrangement I took advantage of the holes in my self made container to place umbrella grass stems, which I wired together at the top. I had removed the leaves at the top because they would wither very quickly as they would have been out of water. I placed one stem with leaves in the centre where it would be in water and added two Dutch iris.

The next arrangement was a particularly challenging one because it was completely unprepared. I wanted to show the audience the process of trimming and preparing the various elements before arranging. Of course, this exercise is difficult at the best of time and that is why it is at the later section of the curriculum, when students have had a chance to gain some experience.

I used nandina domestica and strelitzia reginae flowers and one leaf.

It's cymbidium orchid time and I got my hands on a number of stems of these gorgeous blooms. It's been my experience with these flowers that, after sitting in an arrangement  for a while, they can kink and thus the top part wilt. So, I try to arrange them in such a way that they have some support, as I've done in my example, below. 

The orchid in the next arrangement did not need to be supported because it grew downwards and was placed downwards. The dry wood is from a cypress tree and the bromeliad flowers are called queen's tears. There is, also a sprig of nandina domestica nana to the back of the arrangement.

Mary made a freestyle arrangement using Siberian dogwood (Cornus syberica alba) and rhododendrons in a heavy, footed suiban.

There are more photos of demonstration and exhibition arrangements that I will share with you in my next post. 

Bye for now,

Emily

9TH SEPTEMBER, 2024

 

Hello all,

First of  all, I'd like to remind you that the Ikebana International Exhibition will be this weekend. It will be held at Labassa Mansion National Trust. We have all been working very hard preparing for it and, in my case, also preparing for a one hour demonstration. The Labassa mansion is so beautiful that it warrants a visit for itself alone. Add to that ikebana arrangements throughout its interiors and it is a must visit. Please come and see it and, if you're there for my demo, please come and say hello.

Last week's class theme was 'Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials'. In my example, at the top of this post, I used a glass object in the shape of a knot and threaded the arum lilies through it. The tall, glass vase was chosen to highlight the stems of the lilies, which are also holding up the glass knot.

Cymbie used New Zealand flax leaves, stripped and wound around blue cellophane in a ceramic container.

Mary brought two, different types of cardboard to class, one was an apple separator and the other corrugated cardboard. 

Mary cut a hole through the cardboard and fed the neck of the tall vase through it. She created an interesting shape by partially cutting through it, then wired it in place. The single rhododendron flower was sufficient as the fresh materials component.

Mary had enough time to make a second arrangement using the corrugated cardboard. She created the shape, below, and added a small, hidden container, into which she placed alstroemeria psittacina leaves.

Jenny brought along three different sized sieves as her unconventional materials. Her ceramic container has holes around it, which Jenny used to great effect by placing the sieves in them, then added branches of cotoneaster and arum lilies.

Vicky brought two sink drainers and placed them vertically, creating a fence-like structure. She, then, wove stems of Japanese flowering quince and camelias through it.

Lucy used two different types of unconventional materials - a fine scrunched up wire and plastic tubes. She used both the inside and outside of her glass container and completed the arrangement by placing two crucifix orchids in it.

Nicole did not have appropriate material to work with, so we ventured into the bowels of my storeroom and came up with a couple of pieces. The first one was a very finely woven bamboo, which Nicole draped over a container and added an arum lily and bud. 

Nicole had finished quickly and, since we can't have people sitting around idle in class, I sent her into the garden to get material for a second arrangement. She used the second item she found in the store room - a wooden piece, which she placed diagonally over her ceramic container, adding dietes leaves, one arum lily and one arum leaf.

I leave you with this photograph of a local art enthusiast sitting on my sculpture in the back yard and enjoying the sunshine.

Bye for now,

Emily

2ND SEPTEMBER, 2024

Hello all,

Every year, around this time, I like to celebrate the arrival of spring with a large arrangement of spring blossoms. In this case I used prunus elvins, Japanese flowering quince and arum lilies.

I have so many plants in my garden, which were given to me by friends or relatives and which I treasure. One such shrub is the red rhododendron, from which I cut the branches, below, and which was given to us by my parents when we first moved into the house. Sadly, dad has been gone for 24 years and mum, who is 94 is suffering from dementia and has no memory of anything. These gorgeous blooms remind me of better times.

In last week's blog I posted photographs of the class arrangements using wattle. Unfortunately, my acacia aphylla had not flowered at that time. But it has now and I had to use it. My frilly daffodils, conveniently, flowered at the same time.

I dedicate this next arrangement to my colleague, Swann Lam, who arrived at my doorstep on a day of bucketing rain to hand me three, cymbidium orchid stems. It's been my experience that the thinner stemmed of these orchids need some support to prevent them from kinking downwards due to their weight. The dried, strelitzia reginae leaf has an interesting curl and worked well with both the container and the orchid.

It's been a week of pleasant surprises. Apart from Swann's orchids offering, I also received a number of containers and other ikebana paraphernalia. 

Hazel McNaught had been one of Norman Sparnon's students and in her later years, we became quite friendly. When she had to go into care, I used to visit her and take her out every once in a while. I was her only visitor because the only family she had left lived very far away.

When Hazell passed away, the family asked me to do the flowers at her funeral, which I considered an honour. Fast forward over 25 years and I get a phone call from Norm, the husband of Hazel's Niece, Elaine. She, too, had been an ikebanist and had collected containers, kenzans, etc. After losing Elaine, Norm wanted to give her ikebana 'treasures' to someone who would appreciate them. So, he very kindly, volunteered to bring them to me. Below is my first arrangement in one of Elaine's containers. The pussy willow was also a gift from my student, Nicole and the nandina berries at the back came from Dianne at last class.

When Mary arrived to class last week I sent her out with a cutter and carte blanche to cut whichever branch she wanted from the prunus elvins  and whatever other materials she wanted from the garden. The branch she chose required quite a lot of trimming to reveal a sweeping line and, then, she followed that line with the arum lilies.

 

Mary was quite quick with her first arrangement and was able to do a second. So, out into the garden, once more and she produced the arrangement, below.

 I was invited together with John Meade to an event at McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery. The event is explained below:

 A celebration of public art

This year marks the half-way point of the 25-year public/private partnership program which sees a series of contemporary sculptures installed along the Peninsula Link freeway, near McClelland.

With 7 sculptures installed to date, come celebrate with a special sculpture tour, drinks on Harry’s deck, and a ceremonial lighting of Love Flower, by John Meade with Emily Karanikolopoulos, to honour the occasion

John and me with our baby

John and I were very pleased with the location in which the 'Love Flower' was installed. It has great visibility, especially from the cafe and is enhanced by the trees in the background. Also, it was great to see the plaque with our names on it.

The camellia stem in this next arrangement had such an ideal shape and the flower  looking upwards, that all I had to do was find a container for it. Well, actually, I did have to remove some leaves and secure it in the container without the use of a kenzan.

Bye for now,

Emily