My anthurium plant has been doing very well in the bathroom, where it is not seen by anyone but me. I cut two of the flowers and looked around for other material to use with them. The agave was my first choice as it has very sculptural qualities that appeal to me.
As I was watering the garden, YET ONCE AGAIN, I noticed the umbrella grass, which is suffering from the lack of rain. My watering is just enough to keep my plants alive but not enough for them to thrive. I cut some of the stronger looking stems and played with them in this nageire container with three holes on each side. I had created this design so that I could use the last of my current, gloriosa lilies. I have more plants just coming up and I'm looking forward to seeing how they will develop so late in the season.
For our recent Masterclass I had provided all the participants with hawthorn branches with berries. I, also, gave them a variety of other materials and instructed them to use as much or as little of their materials to create their arrangement. They were to study the materials before selecting a container from the shelves.
In the arrangement, below, Lei chose not to use any of the hawthorn. The corky elm that I provided had leaves, which Lei stripped and then bent the branches to create the spider-like structure with it. She secured it in one of my self made containers and added two of her three agapanthus.
Midori, also, chose not to use the hawthorn but stripped most of the golden elm (Ulmus glabra 'Lutescens') branch of leaves and bent it to create a curved line. She kept the split in the container mostly clear and uncluttered, adding only a stem of Oriental lilies with two buds and some elm leaves in the other opening.
Angie, in her first Masterclass, created a naturalistic arrangement, using all three of the materials provided. She removed a number of side branches from the golden elm to reveal its sweeping lines.
Akemi, like Lei, stripped the corky elm of its leaves and created a roughly spherical shape enclosing the space created. She, also, stripped the hawthorn of leaves and placed them low, in and out of the structure. In the inner space she placed two Oriental lily buds.
Jenny trimmed both the hawthorn and the golden elm branches leaving the long, curved stems of both. She placed them in the same direction, almost like a hanging shin, then added the hydrangeas and more, smaller elm and hawthorn branches. The container is a very heavy, reconstituted stone and ideal for the heavy materials.
Cym discovered how difficult it is to use a container with small openings, which will not allow a kenzan inside. She worked hard but managed to balance the materials very well. There was some discussion as to whether she should use a flower. I left the decision to her because the arrangement, in my opinion, looks complete as is. She chose to leave out the flower.
Julie, also, removed the leaves from her hawthorn branch and placed it in the tall, ceramic container. She had a loquat branch, which she trimmed and placed in the opposite side of the container. The lily buds completed the arrangement.
Lucy chose to keep the leaves on her hawthorn branches. She used a container with a split down the middle, which can be helpful but, also, difficult to use because it can only hold water up to where the split begins. The white, fluffy material is probably a privet. The three lily buds were necessary for balance on such a large arrangement.
It was also Swann's first masterclass. She, too, chose a container that's difficult to use. Its large size demands large materials but the small opening makes this a challenge. Swann managed this by keeping the stripped, corky elm above the container and only placing the hawthorn and lilies into the opening to reach the water.
Bye for now,
Emily
