JEANNINE'S BIRTHDAY

 

The birthday girl, Jeannine

 

The birthday cake made by me and, yes,
including the stiletto 

Hello all,

My beautiful daughter-in-law, Jeannine, recently celebrated a milestone birthday with a party with her closest friends and family. The venue was delightful, the food delicious and plentiful and the open bar was much frequented by all.

It really was a most enjoyable evening with dancing until closing time. The mini bus that Dennis, Jeannine's husband, had hired to take our immediate family to and from the venue, was a great idea for many reasons.

And now to ikebana. At last week's class, I had provided the students with branches of conifer which I had found on the footpath at a nearby house. Clearly the owners had pruned the tree or trees quite heavily and left the cuttings outside. I love to take advantage of such opportunities, so I loaded up the car and brought them home.

In my first arrangement, below, I used the conifer in a naturalistic style in a donut shaped container which has two openings, one at the top and one inside the circle. I needed strong flowers to go with it, hence the camellias.

In my second arrangement I used a stem of conifer that appears to have been trimmed over time, much like a hedge with a flat surface. I removed a number of subordinate branches, so as to feature the lines of the stems. Having chosen the container, my first instinct was to look for a flower to put with it. However, Ray Bywaters' words about challenging ourselves were fresh in my mind and I looked around for something different. I settled on the strelitzia leaf for its strength and contemporary look.

Vicky made yet another tall arrangement. She removed almost half of the stems and leaves of the conifer branch, creating a dramatic line and added long stemmed oriental lilies still in bud.

Mary referenced Variation No. 4 with a shin and hikai in a nageire container. 

Lucy turned her stem upside down, after trimming it back to reveal the curve of the stem and placed it over a nageire vase. The partially open oriental lily completed the arrangement. It's important to note that the conifer will last for quite a while without being in water. 

Cimbie spend a considerable amount of time removing subordinate branches and leaves to reveal the reddish brown stems. The large container that she chose was ideal for the heavy branch, however, she had to employ strong mechanics to stop the branch from tipping forward.

Nicole used an exquisite tsubo vase and fixed the stem in that position by splitting it and attaching it to a split vertical fixture. In the photo the flowers appear to be filling the opening but this was not the case. On the left side the rim was clearly visible.

Jenny secured her branch into the corner of her container with the use of a fork shaped stick. She then placed the chrysanthemums behind the conifer stem keeping all the stems together leaving ample space at the top of the container and making a dynamic arrangement.

Similarly, Bredenia secured her branch in a corner of her container and added a strelitzia with a double head.

It's always satisfying when using unfamiliar material and managing to master it. 

Bye for now,

Emily