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