VERTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

 

Hello all, 

I looked at some of my photos destined for this blog and realized that I'm in a 'vertical' frame of mind. Many are 'Vertical Arrangements'.

Actually, that's not entirely true. Apart from themed work for exhibitions or workshops, my ikebana is always opportunistic. I get inspiration from the materials that are available at the time. 

Case in point is the arrangement, above. In my travels I came across these bullrushes, Scirpoides holoschoenus, in a very boggy spot. Treading very carefully with my inappropriate sandals, I managed to cut three of them. I, then, went into my storeroom looking for other material to use with them. As I was lifting a particular piece from the hook in the ceiling, the palm inflorescence fell and hit my head. I took that as an omen to use it.

Its natural colour is a very dull grey so I sprayed it with a copper spray. The curve of the branch and its colour determined the container. The challenge was to have the branch sitting upright without touching the container. Physics dictates that it cannot be. I used a sturdy stick, which I attached to  a kenzan at the bottom of the vase. I, then, wired the stick to the inflorescence, which held it in place. The only thing left was to conceal the stick and I did that with the placement of a leaf.

I really liked these misshapen agapanthus stems. They have a lot of character and needed only to be placed in an appropriate container.

The next arrangement came to be because I wanted to use this retro, glass container, which belonged to a beloved aunt, whom we lost recently. Her son and daughter-in-law offered relatives some mementos and this vase was mine. The calla lilies are conveniently flowering and are ideal for this simple, naturalistic arrangement.

As I was cutting strelitzia reginae flowers, I accidently cut a stem with two, large leaves. I stripped half of the large leaf and curled the smaller around it. I've been watching the deep purple agapanthus, Agapanthus Purple Cloud, as it was flowering and waiting for an opportunity to cut and use them.

This is a small, vertical arrangement, which lives in the powder room. The leaves are curculigo and the flower is a calla lily with some sort of mutation. 

I reworked a couple of arrangements to turn them into Christmas ones. 

I replaced the vase of the exhibition arrangement, below, with a tall, red one and sprayed the mahonia leaves gold. I removed the spent strelitzia flowers and replaced them with white hydrangeas and alstroemeria psittacina flowers. I, also, added gold beads and a couple of red baubles.

Similarly, the palm leaves in the arrangement, below, were sprayed gold and the blue agapanthus was replaced with a white one. Also, the container was more suited to Christmas.

Bye for now,

Emily

9TH DECEMBER 2024

 

Hello all,

At our last class for the year I set the theme of making a celebratory arrangement. This has become a tradition with my class.

I used a very tall, glass vase for my floor arrangement and, I have to confess, I took the lazy way out of a challenging problem. When using a transparent vase, the materials inside of the vase must be a part of the whole arrangement. In other words, the vase is not just a receptacle for water. In this case the stems of my flowers would have been visible and quite unattractive. So, since it was a Christmas arrangement, I coloured the water red, thus concealing the stems and giving the impression that it is a red vase.

This was all well and good but it created a new, potential problem. There was a good chance that the white hydrangeas would have absorbed the red dye and changed colour. I did not want that, so I put each stem in a water vial with clean water then placed them in the vase. So far, so good. 

Lei used one red and one white, glass vase for her Christmas arrangement. She added a sprayed magnolia branch, poinsettias, which she cut from her potted plant and coloured beads.

 Lucy opted for subtle colours in her Christmas arrangement. Her palm spathe was sprayed duck egg blue on the outside and a soft gold on the inside. She used dietes flowers and alstroemeria psittacina leaves. Her round, ceramic container was, also, soft gold.

Nicole created a very Australian, Christmas arrangement using kangaroo paw and sprayed gum nuts in two nageire containers.

Shaneen's colour scheme tends to be in the warm, earthy hues. In her arrangement she used two matching, glass vases and placed white hydrangea peniculata in the taller vase with a silver sprayed, dried branch and cineraria Silver Dust. In the second vase she used hydrangea macrophylla and a sprig of cineraria Silver Dust. She connected them all together with little, matching baubles.

Bredenia used a branch of woolly bush, Adenanthos sericeus, Which she had cut in May and used in the exhibition we had to celebrate 20 years of teaching. It's extraordinary that a cut branch would last for seven months and still look as fresh as it did when it was first cut. Here Bredenia used it in the horizontal form that it grew in a tall vase and added hydrangeas and mizuhiki.

Vicky wound a string of tiny lights around a large, sprayed branch , which she balanced over a red, glass vase. She added chrysanthemums, alstroemeria psittacina and silver baubles to complete her very festive arrangement.

Wendy is in revision and chose to make an arrangement 'With Flowers Only'. She chose an unusual, glass container in which she placed five, different types of flowers, although only four are visible in the photo.

Jenny used her time in class to make two floral bouquets for her daughters friends, who were getting married. She chose colours that were bright and 'happy' as this was such a happy occasion. The feedback she got from the brides was very positive.

Over the years many have expressed envy at the range of materials that my garden provides. When I say that it takes a great effort to keep a large, high maintenance garden going, I don't think they quite understand. Due to a number of factors, I have neglected my garden in recent times. I'm now working very hard to put some order in my overgrown with weeds garden. One of the biggest jobs is repotting cymbidium orchids and digging up spring bulbs that have finished and replacing them with summer ones, such as gloriosa lilies.

The old saying of 'A picture tells a thousand words' is quite true, so have a look at our BBQ area, below. It's been this messy for weeks and, I fear, it will be for a while longer before I finish. Yes, I'm shamelessly soliciting sympathy.

Bye for now,

Emily

2ND DECEMBER, 2024

 

Hello all,

You may remember my arrangement, below, which was exhibited on the third week of our exhibition, and featured a dug up palm plant.

When I brought the plant back home I replanted the palm in a large pot. In order to reduce the transpiration, I removed a couple of the fronds, which had interesting curves. Of course, I could not let them go to waste, instead, I trimmed the inside of each and arranged them in a small suiban. Looking around for a floral addition, I found this agapanthus with the perfect curve to fit the arrangement. You could be forgiven for thinking that I manipulated it, as I often do but I did not. This time it was just nature doing her thing.

And speaking of exhibits being brought home, the large bamboo structure which was exhibited in the first and second week was left outside the garage where it became a bit of a nuisance by falling over and having to be picked up. I had two choices - to disassemble it and store away the bamboo or to make another arrangement. No prizes for guessing which I went with.

I reworked the structure a bit to fit its new position and placed it against the wall of the entry of the house, incorporating the wall container.  Then the fun and games began as I climbed up a ladder to cut two strelitzia nicolai flowers. With the flowers in position, I needed something green. Enter two strelitzia reginae leaves and the arrangement was complete. 

For the fourth and last week of the exhibition the curator of Art Space, Box Hill, Marguerite Brown selected a number of art pieces from their collection and hung them on the walls of the gallery. It was, then, our job to create an arrangement to complement one of the art pieces.

Below is the Colour Screenprint - Vec Makropoulos 1996 by ALUN LEACH JONES. Next to it is my arrangement (hopefully) complementing it. Unfortunately, the white components of the arrangement are, somewhat, lost against the white background.

There was one small plinth nearby without an arrangement and I was asked if I'd make one for it. So here it is.

Jenny chose the cyanotype - Mona Lisa, 1993 by CAROLYN LEWENS. (I apologize for the reflections on the glass).

 Lucy's choice was a mixed media - Imagined Places by SANDRA CHAMPION.

I made another arrangement, which did not relate to any artwork. It just filled up a rather large space. The photograph was taken at home against a dark background because it is less vibrant when photographed against a white background.

See what I mean?

My dogwood, Cornus Capitata, is in full bloom and is now large enough for me to cut and enjoy indoors. I teamed a branch with the newly flowering hydrangeas in a nod to Variation No. 4.

My smokebush, Cotinus Grace, is also looking quite lush and beautiful. Here I have teamed it with agapanthus in bud, in a wall arrangement.

Bye for now,

Emily

25TH NOVEMBER, 2024

 

Hello all,

I continue to be awed by the beauty of nature. My dogwood - Cornus capitata is flowering. I cut a rather large branch from which I removed the top and some side shoots to reveal the shape, above. 

The arrangement can fall into three different themes - 'The Shape of the Container', 'The Colour of the Container' and 'Using Only One Kind of Material'

For Wednesday's class I set the advanced students the theme from Book 5 - 'An Arrangement Expressing a Movement'. This can be quite challenging. The important thing to remember is that while every movement is a verb, not every verb is a movement. For example 'sitting', 'sleeping', 'thinking' etc are all verbs but not movements.

My example, above, represents 'clapping'. I used hosta leaves and white dianthus. I kept the flowers subordinate, as the leaves are the main feature.

Mary represented flying/soaring with the use of a strelitzia reginae and two leaves. She paid particular attention to the lines at the base.

 

Shaneen used a tall, thin, glass vase in which she placed a dry branch with one stem forward and the other to the back. The hydrangeas quercifolia were placed in the opposite directions of the stems, simulating marching.

Jenny used a single hydrangea and bull rushes, one of which represents kicking.

Bredenia's onion flowers with their curly stems represent punching a punching bag.

Dianne's class theme was 'A simplified Arrangement'. In this lesson we reduce the material to its most basic elements. Dianne used a long stemmed rose from which she removed all but one of the leaves and one flower. She also used a single, red cordyline leaf.

Wendy's class theme was 'Straight and Curved Lines'. She used agapanthus buds with curved stems and umbrella grass stems in a container with holes to the front and back.

I leave you with this very simple arrangement designed to show off my clematis.

Bye for now,

Emily

MASTERCLASS # 27

 

Hello all,

Nature never ceases to amaze and delight me. The double headed strelitzia reginae, above, has so much 'attitude', that it only required me to place it in an appropriate container. Admittedly, it did require some skill to have the heavy stem sitting upright without resting on the rim of the container. The single leaf, continues the clean, vertical line.

For Saturday's masterclass, the last for the year, the attendees were given three different types of materials each and were asked to study them carefully for a few minutes before selecting a container from the shelves. They were instructed to use as much or as little of their materials as they wanted.

Vicky had a large weeping willow branch, from which she, painstakingly, removed most of the leaves to reveal the lines of the stems. She used a second container for the agapanthus and roses, which she kept up high emphasizing lines at the base.

Akemi chose a tall, glass vase, which she concealed with a New Zealand flax leaf coming from the vase and folding over the front of it. She used a single umbrella grass stem to create asymmetrical, geometric shapes and a small sprig of philadelphus flowers peaking from the back.

One of Cymbie's materials was weeping elm branches and, because she removed all the leaves, she did not have to have the stems in water. She then chose the two glass vases and threaded the stems through the holes. She stripped the leaves from her stem of philadelphus and placed it through one of the holes but, this time, making sure that the stem was in water.

Jenny had a large piece of Japanese maple, which had a slanting form. She removed a great number of the leaves and trimmed away one side stem. She placed the large stem in a heavy, ceramic container with a split down the middle. On the opposite side she placed the smaller stem, creating a continuous, sweeping line of maple. For the floral focus, she used yellow alstroemeria to one side.

Midori had monstera deliciosa leaves which she cut away from the stems and pushed into the container, creating a ruffled effect. She used the stems for lines and alstroemeria for colour. The arrangement was a nod to the lesson 'Mass and Line'.

Julie had a heavy bunch of loquats which she placed into a large container, turned sideways. She placed the loquat leaves sweeping forward over the fruit and one strelitzia reginae peaking from the back. This arrangement reminds me of the nasty birds that come and eat all my fruit.

Lucy took some pains to place the agapanthus 'just so'. The buds on the agapanthus inflorescence look like tear drops as they hang down in front of the black container. I find this particularly charming. The loquat stem creates the line and the fruit at the back add contrast to colour and form.

At our last, regular class Dianne, very generously, brought a large bucket full of waratah branches with flowers for us all to share. My stem had three flowers and an interesting curve to the stem. I wanted to emphasize the stem so I went searching for complementing branches in the garden and, sure enough, I found it. I was so keen to cut the mahonia and arrange it that I didn't bother getting gloves. For those unfamiliar with this material, it is just about the most prickly one I have ever used. Every tip of the leaves is as sharp as a needle and I have the scratches to prove it. I trimmed all the superfluous leaves from the mahonia, revealing the lovely curve of the stem. Then, when I was done, I went and rubbed antiseptic all over my hands and arms. But, you know what, it was worth it!

Bye for now,

Emily

SOGETSU VICTORIA EXHIBITION CONTINUES

 

Hello all,

We are currently into our third week of our four week exhibition. As I mentioned before, the arrangements change each week with some exceptions. 

This week is for students, who are still on the curriculum and their teachers. It is a great opportunity for less experienced ikebanists to exhibit. This, of course, is done under the supervision of their teachers.

The arrangement, above, is my exhibit for this week. It's quite a large one measuring approximately 1.00 metre high by 1.4 metres wide by 1.00 metre deep. The plant is a palm that has been growing in its pot for many years, so much so, that I think it is partially bonsaied. It was growing slanted because I had tried to remove it and failed, so I left it. The result is a very pleasing, slanted growth habit. I tried a lot harder this time and was successful in removing it. I washed thoroughly and tidied up the roots. Using a saw, I created an indentation to sit over the lip of the second container securely. The yellow birds of paradise, strelitzia reginae mandela's gold, were provided by my student, Bredenia.

Below is Deborah (Deb) MacKenzie's arrangement of Variation No.2 Upright Style Moribana, which is the lesson she is currently up to.

Dianne Longley is in Book 4 and chose to make the lesson Variation no. 4 Slanting Style Nageire. She particularly wanted to use her contorted hazel, Corylus Avellana 'Contorta' and her waratahs, of which she is particularly proud.

Lei Sun (Wendy) is also in Book 4 and her arrangement was of the lesson 'Mass and Line'. She used dried muehlenbeckia complexa for the mass and two strelitzias  reginae for lines.

In last week's exhibition I made an arrangement using fresh and unconventional materials. In a heavy, ceramic container with a split down the middle I placed a structure made with stainless steel pipes. The fresh material was a strelitzia reginae and two of its leaves.

And now to class. The advanced students were asked to create a freestyle arrangement because some of them had left over materials from our workshops, which should not have been wasted.

Lucy made a very smart arrangement using one New Zealand flax leaf and a single heliconia. And, no, the flax is not touching the table.

Vicky used a large, rectangular, glass container turned to its narrow side and placed a branch of gingko biloba and a single waratah only on one side. She emphasized the thick stem of the branch inside the container.

Shaneen used dried branches and her home grown alstroemeria, which she kept to one side allowing for the split of the container to be visible.

Lei reused the palm leaves from the workshops, trimmed down to a fan shape and placed them in a fun container. She added the strelitzia reginae peaking between the 'fans'.

Although Mary's arrangement was a freestyle it can, also, fit the lessons - 'The shape of the Container' and 'Repeating Similar Shapes and Forms'. She used umbrella grass stems, a single strelitzia reginae and two trimmed down leaves.

Bredenia's arrangement comprised of a number of variegated New Zealand flax leaves and a single strelitzia reginae Mandela's Gold.

 

Bye for now,

Emily