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