IN A SUIBAN WITHOUT A KENZAN

 

Contorted hazel (corylus avellana contorta), red stemmed dogwood
(cornus siberica alba), variegated New Zealand flax and strelitzia 
reginae flower

Hello all,

At our recent Sogetsu meeting, I led the workshop on the theme 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. This was originally part of the curriculum in Book 4 but, more recently, it is, also, featured in Book 5, where the difficulty is increased. This is probably the most challenging lesson in our curriculum. I added another level of difficulty by asking the members to use mainly fresh, bare branches as well as some other materials. 

In this arrangement the focus is on the water in the container and the stems of materials entering the water, hence the 'no kenzan'.

I had one arrangement set up and demonstrated three others.

Yellow dogwood (Cornus sericea flaviramea) and variegated New Zealand Flax

Corky Elm and Green Goddess lilies in a self made, ceramic suiban

Japanese flowering apricot (prunus mume) and strelitzia reginae

And one week later...

Back to the abundance of my garden. The mahonia was in full bloom and I cut a stem with its citrus yellow flower buds. However, within a couple of days the yellow buds had fallen on the table. So I removed the flower buds and added a strelitzia reginae to the arrangement.

Mary and Cymbie made arrangements on the theme 'With Leaves Only'. In the arrangement, below, Mary used variegated New Zealand flax, arum lily leaves and curculigo leaves in a ceramic container.

Cimbie used curculigo leaves, strelitzia reginae leaves and cathedral begonia leaves in a ceramic container.

Bye for now,

Emily

B

MASTERCLASS #32

Magnolia, pine, cotoneaster, chrysanthemums
and gypsophila

 

Hello all,

The two arrangements, above, were commissioned works for the 40th anniversary celebrations of Daiwa Capital Markets Australia Limited. The brief was for one large and one medium arrangement with a Japanese aesthetic, to be placed in the Rialto Business Lounge, where the event was to take place.

After the event, the arrangements were moved to the offices on the 34th floor. This was no mean feat as they were large and heavy. The tall arrangement reached 2 metres. I understand that the concierge staff were employed to make the move, so that they could be enjoyed for a week before I went to take them down.

With the knowledge that the arrangements were to be moved, I secured the large branches by screwing them together. I also used some strategic wiring. It obviously worked very well because when I went to take them down, there was absolutely no difference in the placement of materials.

For our recent Masterclass we were all provided with large, bare, magnolia branches by Vicky, who had her star magnolia tree cut down. I also provided a stem of oriental lilies to each participant. The arrangements, below, may seem simple but skill and mechanics were required to secure the branches correctly, especially with the buds pointing upwards.

Vicky cut her branch right down and used two glass containers, over which she placed the branches creating parallel lines. She removed the open flowers from her lily stem, leaving only two buds.

Cymbie's arrangement was made in a nageire container.

Lucy used a tall container with a split down the middle.

Lei used branches inside and outside of her container, which had a split half way down.

Jenny used a large, ceramic container and created a large arrangement.

Christine settled on a steel container mainly for its weight, meaning it was able to hold the heavy branch.

Bye for now,

Emily

AUTUMN SPLENDOUR

Photograph courtecy of Lei Wang

Hello all,

First of all a word of explanation. Those of you who subscribe to this blog and receive emails whenever I publish a post, would have received advertisements in last week's post. I need to explain that I had nothing to do with that. However, I have taken steps to prevent it from happening again.

And now to ikebana. I made the arrangement, above, for our recent Ikebana International workshop. It was led by Angie Chau of the Ikenobo school. Our theme was 'Autumn Colours'. Most attendees used branches with autumn coloured leaves, however, I didn't have any as all of my trees were well past their best. I chose to go with the strelitzia nicolai leaf from my recent prunings, which was colouring beautifully. The two, strelitzia reginae flowers finished the arrangement. I had to employ some serious mechanics to have that heavy leaf stand just so. I, then, pinned the flower stems to the leaf stem to keep the line clean.

For our recent class I asked the senior students to make an autumnal arrangement in a tsubo vase. Below is my example. I used branches from my viburnum opulus, hydrangeas and oranges in a ceramic tsubo vase.

Cybie used corokia, koala fern and stock in a tsubo vase made of Mexican onyx.

Lei used bare Japanese maple branches, nandina domestica stems and berries and chrysanthemums in a ceramic, tsubo vase.

Lucy came from an appointment and was completely unprepared. After a quick rummage around my garden, she put together the arrangement, below. She used an elm branch, amaranthus and leucodendrons.

Vicky was, also, unable to prepare. She, too, had to look around my garden for materials. She used viburnum opulus, amaranthus, chrysanthemums and pomegranates.

Nicole used poplar branches, cotoneaster berries and nandina domestica nana in a ceramic, tsubo vase.

Jenny used Japanese maple and two different coloured chrysanthemums - yellow and purple.

Mary's arrangement comprised of loquat branches and chrysanthemums. She was not able to access autumnal material.

Cimby's arrangement, below, was of the theme 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. She used fig branches inside and out of the container and added variegated New Zealand flax and corokia.

Wendy's theme was 'A Floor Arrangement'. She chose a corner of my lounge room in which to place the arrangement. She used fresh bamboo to create a structure which, she then, balanced onto a bamboo container, with only one point resting on the floor. She added fresh bamboo leaves and gerberas.

Dianne's class theme was 'Using Both Fresh and Dry Materials'. She used dry acacia aphylla branches and chrysanthemums in a squat, tsubo vase.

Bye for now,

Emily

IKEBANA FROM PRUNINGS

 

Hello all,

On the weekend, with the help of my son, Dennis and his power tools, we did some serious pruning. We cut what was left of the pomegranate fruit together with their stems. When I brought them into the studio and looked at them, I liked the spikey branches contrasting with the heavy, colourful fruit. I decided to arrange them that way. I added two strelitzias reginae, reminiscent of the pesky birds that eat the fruit on the tree.

We also cut down two, large, tree sized plants of strelitzia nicolai. These provided a number of materials for ikebana.

I took one of the very big, green leaves and a flower to make the arrangement, below. The leaf was far too tall but I did not want to shorten it by removing the very interesting stem, so I folded it downwards and added the flower to the front. The steel container was made by a favourite cousin of mine, Nick. He even customized it by adding the letter 'E' at the front. I chose it for this arrangement for its weight and stability to hold the heavy materials, as well as its visual suitability.

And, speaking of heavy materials, in the arrangement, below, the thick stem of the strelitzia nicolai leaves are very heavy indeed. The container I chose is quite heavy and stable. However, it is because the material, which is 1.5m tall, is straight up, without leaning on any side that keeps it from tipping over. 

To facilitate the placement of the pomegranate in just the place I wanted to put it, I had to devise a hidden receptacle. The photograph, below, is a bird's eye view of that receptacle in between the leaves. 

For the next arrangement I picked the dry leaf from the pile set for the bin. Nature had done all the work in this case and my job was just to find a way of securing it over the wall container. I picked up the white cedar berries from a foot path, where branches had been pruned and were lying there, waiting to be removed. Then I added two proteas for some colour.

In this next arrangement I used a rather unusual material from the strelitzia nicolai. It is what's left behind after the flower petals have died and the seeds, that appear after that have been eaten by birds. I trimmed and cleaned the material and placed it over a metal container. I added yellow chrysanthemums to the side and white ones slightly back. At the very back I placed alstroemeria psittacina leaves.

Close up of the rather woody material

On the same weekend I pruned all my hydrangeas. I managed to resist keeping branches to use in ikebana, except for one. Its a simple arrangement but one that appeals to me. I added my only kniphofia to the hydrangea stem. I wish I could photograph the curving forward of the stem, which appears to hug the flower.

It's easy to be envious of the abundance of materials in my garden but I'd like to remind everyone that it has taken 35 years of serious work on my part to reach, what I call, the embarrassment of riches. And the work has not finished. We all know that a garden is a work in progress but, the rewards are so great, that it is worth the effort.

I'd also like to mention that when working with the materials in the garden, ideas form as to how they can be used in ikebana. All of the arrangements in this post are made with materials earmarked for disposal but, as I picked each one to cut up and put in the garden bins, a germ of an idea was formed and I put the material aside. This can be both a good and a bad thing. It's good because I made many and varied arrangements and bad because I put myself under pressure to use all those materials.

Bye for now,

Emily

2ND JUNE, 2025

 

Hello all,

At our recent Sogetsu workshop, which was conducted by Lara Telford, we were asked to contemplate the reason that our founder, Sofu Teshigahara named our school 'Sogetsu' which translates 'Grass Moon'. We were to interpret this theme in our own way. Personally, I went very literal. I chose bamboo, which is a grass and a large pomegranate on a stem to represent the moon. The container was chosen not only for its shape but also for its stability in holding the heavy fruit without toppling.

I was not overly enamoured of it as an arrangement, so I changed it when I got home. I replaced the bamboo with a loquat branch - the arrangement at the top of this post. It was not meant to be on Lara's topic but more dynamic as an arrangement.

For our recent Wednesday class I tried something new. I asked the advanced students to make freestyle arrangements, all of which would be placed on the staircase. I instructed them to collaborate to some extent by keeping in mind the arrangements below and above their own. There were to be some common elements in the arrangements connecting them. I stressed that it was not to be a 'Renka'. The arrangements were to stand alone and then be placed along with the others on the staircase.

We needed a start, so I made my arrangement first, which I placed on the staircase before the students arrived and they took it from there.

Emily's arrangement - Rhododendron, oranges and nerines

Lei's arrangement - cordylines, nerines and salvias

Nicole's arrangement - rhododendron

Vicky's arrangement - spruce and chrysanthemums

Jenny's arrangement - salvias and rhododendrons

Lucy's arrangement had to be photographed in situ - bamboo structure, 
oranges and alstroemeria psittacina  leaves

The final result

And here is an example of an experienced teacher making a rookie mistake. My first attempt was an arrangement, using autumnal colours, which I thought would blend in very well with the timber of the staircase. Because of a bad back, I worked on the arrangement in my studio and not directly on the stairs. I was quite pleased with it and photographed it against a black background. Because it was designed to drape down the staircase, I elevated it by placing it over another container. 

My heart sank when I placed it on the staircase because the colours blended with the timber too well and the arrangement was lost. There was nothing I could do but make a new arrangement.

On the following Friday, Mary followed on with the same theme. She, also, made a freestyle arrangement taking into consideration my arrangement. She used oranges to connect with it. We, then, placed them on the staircase.

Bye for now,

Emily