WORKING WITH METAL

 

Hello all,

At our recent Sogetsu meeting I conducted the workshop on the subject of 'Working With Metal'. An email was sent out to the members in which I gave only a couple of instructions - 

That this theme is an extension of our curriculum theme in Book 4 - 'Using Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials'.

That the metal should be the main focus of the arrangement, not just an add on afterwards.

I demonstrated four arrangements using different types of metal. In the photograph at the top of this post I used tarnished, copper piping. To create the tarnish I had spread yogurt, unevenly, over it and left it outside for a few days. The container was a gift from my cousin Steve and his wife Nieves and the stunning hydrangeas were supplied by my colleague, Beverly Webster. Beverly lives in an area with acidic soil, hence the intense blue colour of her hydrangeas. Alas, my soil is alkaline and I have been battling it for years by the addition of all sorts of chemicals around the hydrangeas in an effort to change them from pink to blue. The best I've been able to achieve is an insipid mauve.

In the arrangement, below, I used stainless steel tubes and pipes. To secure the tubes on to the wooden board I had attached pieces of bamboo onto it using screws and was able to fit the tubes over the bamboo. I used a small branch of smoke bush (Cotinus Grace) and three nerines. Each of the fresh materials was placed in a plastic, water vial and the vials were pushed into the tubes.

I have used the very old and rusted piece of metal, below, in a couple of ways in the past, including at an exhibition. I'm particularly fond of it and handle it very carefully as it is quite fragile. This time I secured it onto a very tall, ceramic vase and added some of my white hydrangeas which are changing into their autumnal colours. As a final touch, I added three tufts of foxtail grass (Alopecurus).

The next arrangement was partially done at home because it would have taken far too much time to demonstrate the cutting of the wire mesh and wiring the two cones together. I chose the container for its shape. The fact that it was metal was a happy coincidence. The fresh materials were crucifix orchids. I chose them for their lightness to fit with the lightness of the mesh.

I'm very grateful to my colleague, Christopher James for supplying me with the next three photographs. 

Vicky's piece was very dramatic. She secured a thick, dried branch onto a board and attached to it silver duct tubing. For fresh materials she added red dahlias to the back and dietes leaves sweeping forward.

Jenny, clearly, had fun raiding her kitchen for metal utensils to use with her large, metal container. Tying everything together were swirls of a thick wire. She used only one kind of fresh material - agapanthus seed heads, without the seeds.

Lucy kept her arrangement simple but quite dramatic. On a tall, black vase she balanced a sheet of shaped, silver metal. Having cut a hole in the metal, she placed through it the inside part of an agave.

Bye for now, 

Emily