11th July, 2022

 

Hello all,

Last Saturday Vernisher Wooh came down from Brisbane to run workshops for our Sogetsu group. Vernisher is the 7th recipient of the Norman and Mary Sparnon Endowment scholarship, which provided for her to spend three months in Tokyo in 2019, studying at Headquarters.

Vernisher started the day by sharing with us photographs and experiences of her stay in Japan, which I found particularly interesting as it reminded me of my own experiences there.

We, then, moved to our first theme, which was 'Using Only One Kind of Material'. I chose one of my favourite winter materials - Prunus Mume, Japanese flowering apricot. I chose large branches with tight buds and a couple of smaller ones with fully opened blossoms, which I placed towards the centre of the structure. The arrangement was 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'.

The second theme was 'A Winter Arrangement'. For my arrangement, at the top of this post, I used my other, two favourite materials - Garrya Elliptica and Kamo Hon Ami camellia. The ceramic container is one I made decades ago and is, also, a favourite. 

For class last Wednesday I provided the advanced students with branches of my Prunus Mume as an opportunity to workshop this material, which they may not have used before.

Vicky used a number of small white containers into which she placed a number of different sized branches and refrained from adding any other material. A good example of 'Using Only One Kind of Material'.

Bredenia wanted to revise the lesson 'In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. Along with the blossom branches, she used red dogwood (Cornus Siberian Alba), and a single arum lily.

Jenny used her branches vertically and added Oriental lilies in a recently acquired, ceramic vase.

Nicole, also, used a nageire container with her blossom branches and added cymbidium orchids, one stem fully opened and two still in bud.

Lucy used a bamboo container, in which she placed two stems of the blossoms and a draping branch of cootamundra wattle in tight bud.

For her Special Occasions theme, Shaneen chose to celebrate Australia Day. She wrapped paper bark from Melaleuca quinquenervia around a ceramic vase and used in her arrangement Purple Hop Bush, Callistemon citrinus, Wattle, Banksia burdetti, Banksia integrifolia and heather-calluna vulgaris. I feel I have to explain that the arrangement was very pleasing to all of us in the class but, with the loss of depth, the photograph does not do it justice. 

Wendy' curriculum theme was 'Repeating Similar Shapes'. She created shapes using aspidistra leaves in different sizes and added a camellia stem with two flowers in a small, ceramic suiban.

  

Mary's theme was 'Curved and Straight Lines'. She used Siberian dogwood (Cornus Siberica Alba) for the curved lines and bamboo for the straight. For the flowers she used mauve coloured stock. 

Bye for now,

Emily

4th July, 2022

 

Hello all,

I, absolutely, love this red camellia. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out its name. Apart from the perfection of the flowers, I love its pendulous form. The arrangement, above, is an example of using one kind of material. I confess, this material makes the exercise easy.

In my travels this morning, I came across an early flowering cootamundra wattle and brought a small amount home. I also had a few small plants of amaranthus, which had self seeded and which Sam removed when he was clearing the vegetable patch. I couldn't let them go to waste. So, I put them together in a brightly coloured ceramic vase.

I was quite late in pruning the hydrangeas and, whilst the flowers on most of them were quite dead, one shrub still had some quite beautiful, autumnal coloured flowers as well as leaves. Another example of using only one kind of material.

On Saturday, as I sat on the garden bench having lunch, I noticed how the branches of my Prunus mume, Japanese Flowering Apricot, intermingled with the New Zealand flax that is growing below it. 

This inspired me to make an arrangement using these two, rather disparate materials.

I've been watching my garrya elliptica for some weeks now, waiting for the catkins to be long enough to be suitable for ikebana. The wall arrangement is ideal for this, as it provides the height from which the material can hang as low as it needs to. The delicate catkins are quite lovely but they are rather dull in colour, hence the brightly coloured camellias.

Mary's class theme was 'Sketching and Arranging'. In this exercise students are required to look carefully at their material and sketch what the arrangement they visualise. More often than not, the resulting arrangement is quite different from the one in the students' mind and, therefore, in the sketch. This is perfectly fine as it illustrates how much the materials dictate just how they will be used. The sketch is for the student's use only.

As I wrote the date at the top of this post, I noticed that it is the 4th of July and, therefore, American Independence Day. I would like to wish my American readers a very happy 4th of July.

Bye for now,

Emily

27th June, 2022

 

Hello all,

A couple of weeks ago I came across a clump of green goddess lilies, which were bigger than any I'd ever seen before. They grow close to a creek, which explains their size but I had difficulty reaching them because the ground is boggy and overgrown with vegetation. It necessitated a subsequent visit, armed with my extendable cutter and gum boots, to reach the flowers. 

Then, at home, I was faced the challenge of arranging such large flowers. In the arrangement, above, I made the wisteria structure large enough as a balance against the size of the lily.

In the arrangement, below, I partially obscured the large flowers with a cascading 'curtain' of cotoneaster branches, laden with berries and the leaves removed.

We, ikebanists, always have a bucket (or, in my case, buckets) full of materials, which we are loathe to discard and which we intend to use at some point. Of course, quite often, these materials become smelly and unusable, necessitating major cleaning jobs. ARGH! 

The photograph, below, is of the bucket around the side of the house in which I have been keeping some bamboo canes. With recent rains the bucket has filled and one of the camellia flowers fell into it, floating on the surface. I found this so charming that I had to share it with you.

I mentioned in a recent post the virtual exhibition of Ikebana International, Mumbai Chapter. The next two arrangements were my contribution to the exhibition.

Mahonia branches with flowers and white and gold chrysanthemums in
ceramic vase

Fig branches and agapanthus in ceramic container

Over a week ago our Ikebana International chapter, in preparation for our upcoming virtual exhibition, had organised for our arrangements to be professionally photographed. More about this later. I bring it up only as a segway to explain my next two arrangements. In my exhibition arrangements I used black pine branches, 'Pinus Yatsubusa', from which I removed a considerable amount of pine needles. These pine needles are much stronger, harder and long lasting than the 'Pinus Radiata' ones, which I usually use, due to the fact that I'm surrounded by them. Well, looking at the mound of needles, I was inspired to do something with them. In the first arrangement I selected pine needles of the same length and used florists' foam in a triangular suiban, into which I inserted them. The salvia stem with flower provided the line to the mass of pine needles.

In the second arrangement I attached pine needles to the rims of two unusual, glass vases with  uneven bases. I added bromeliad flowers, 'Billbergia saundersii'. I, initially, placed the vases on opposite sides.

.....then I tried a different placement.

Mary's curriculum theme was an arrangement 'To Be Viewed from All Sides'. She used Japanese flowering apricot, 'prunus mume', cotoneaster, hydrangea leaves and chrysanthemums.

Bye for now,

Emily

20th June, 2022

 

Hello all,

Last week's theme for the advanced students was 'Repeating Similar Shapes and Forms', chosen by Bredenia. After 31 years of practicing Ikebana, it's a challenge to come up with new ideas on all these curriculum themes. But I thought a couple of different ones I had not done before. The first is the arrangement, above, in which I stripped strelitzia reginae leaves, leaving just a small part of the leaf to one side. It, then, seemed only right to use the strelitzia flower. I, particularly, like the way the reddish colour of the flower is repeated on the stems of some of the leaves.

Below is my second arrangement. This time I used umbrella grass with the flower head caught into  rough balloon shape. By pulling on one of the leaves, I bent the 'balloons' sideways and made them point in one direction. I was scrambling for flowers in my winter garden and was lucky enough to find these, still viable hydrangeas to complete the arrangement.

Bredenia used birds nest ferns, and partially stripped the stem of the leaf, then curled what was left into a rough cylinder. She used nandina berried in front and back of the arrangement, in a strong, ceramic container.

Jenny used New Zealand flax, knotted at the tips, in a ceramic container with four openings. The bromeliad flower (Billbergia saundersii) added a slash of colour to an otherwise monochrome arrangement.

Nicole used aspidistra leaves curved with the stem fed through the leaf in a trough shaped container. She used a number of the same bromeliad flowers (Billbergia saundersii) to balance the strength of the aspidistras.

Lucy used strands of palm inflorescence and dietes leaves  to create circles in a metal, circular container. The delicate Algerian irises were a contribution by Dianne and, albeit short lived, were ideal to complete the arrangement.

Vicky painstakingly curled a great number of liriope leaves and then unfurled them to cascade down in waves in two, glass vases. She added salvia flowers for colour and form.

Shaneen's lesson was 'In a Suiban without a Kenzan'. She used two, bare, Japanese maple branches and one cotoneaster branch. A good way to test the stability of this type of structure is to lift it out of the suiban and place it on the table, If it stays upright, then it was done correctly. Shaneen's structure passed that test.

Mary's lesson was 'Showing Lines at Base'. She used two branches of my much prised, Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus Mume). This small tree is quite incongruous because it produces delicate, fragrant blossoms at the beginning of winter and, when brought indoors, the tight buds will flower fully. Together with the Dutch iris stems, Mary kept the lines at the base strong and clear of any subordinate materials.

The arrangement, below, is Lei's and the lesson is 'Mass and Line'. She massed the cotoneaster berries, inside an aspidistra leaf and for the line, she stripped a palm frond, leaving the little knobs where the leaves have been.

I leave you with this wall arrangement in which I have used oranges, which are just ripening and  cosmos, which is just finishing. The cane added line and created space.

Bye for now,

Emily

DEMONSTRATION #2

Hello all,

The second demonstration was very well attended and, again, my aim was to give the audience an idea of the variety of styles in Sogetsu Ikebana. In the first demo I was assisted by Vicky and in the second by Lucy. They are both experienced ikebanists and excellent assistants. I've always had one or the other helping when I've demonstrated and I don't think I could manage without them.

In my arrangement, above, I placed the orange, metal material around the ceramic container - An example of 'Using Fresh and Unconventional Material'. The pomegranates would have been too heavy for the ceramic container if they were not counterbalanced by the metal piece. I kept the alstroemeria psittacina leaves quite low so as not to obstruct the line of the metal piece.

The next arrangement is a typically winter one. The magnolia branch is bare but alive, requiring water. The Kamo-honnami camellias were the very first to flower and I was keen to use them. I would have liked to have had at least one more so that they would not be an even four but that's all I had. The container is a self made ceramic one.

For the next arrangement I spoke about the source of my inspiration. In this case it was a hand made gift from my youngest granddaughter, Aria. For my recent birthday she gave me a shoe box full of things that she made for me. Amongst them was a heart shape made from pipe cleaners and drinking straws. This gave me the idea to place straws over some natural material. The Siberian dogwood fit the bill very well because of its thin stems. 

The arrangement is an example of 'Fresh and Unconventional Materials', as well as 'Repeating Similar Shapes and Forms'.

The next arrangement under the heading of 'Glass Containers' is quite self explanatory. I used a very long New Zealand Flax leaf, which I stripped in half, lengthwise and bent it into the required shape. I, then, trimmed the agapanthus flowerhead, just enough so that it would fit snugly in the narrow container. 

I wanted to demonstrate using agave because I like it and have it in abundance. It's a difficult material and I struggled for hours trying to create something interesting with a number of different pieces of this heavy, thorny material. In the end, I gave up on all of them and settled for this, relatively simple arrangement in an aluminium container. I'm grateful to Vicky for supplying the anthurium to finish the arrangement.

I've been keeping an eye on this mahonia stem for some months prior to the demonstration and, when it brought out flowers just in time for the demo, I was thrilled.

The simplicity of the arrangement, however, belies the difficulty in securing the single branch in the upright position without it twisting towards one direction or another. Also, ensuring the stem comes out of the lower opening without resting on the sides is not an easy task. Unfortunately, it is too difficult to photograph or describe the mechanics I employed. You had to be there.

Since its introduction to the curriculum, I've enjoyed making sculptures, both large and small. It would not have been possible to actually construct one during the demonstration, so I made one at home and brought it along to show and discuss how it was made and with what materials. I acknowledged then and am doing so, again, now, the help I got from my brother-in-law, Peter. Any time I have difficulty with constructing my ideas, he is my go-to man. 

I used a sheet of stainless steel, bent and then spot welded in place by Peter. What appear to be copper rods going through the stainless steel are, actually, dowels which I sprayed with a copper coloured spray.

Before I end this post, I'd like to thank my student, Lei Wang, who spent an inordinate amount of time photographing and videotaping our exhibition and demonstrations. She has finalised the video and has uploaded it on YouTube. For those interested, here is the link- https://youtu.be/tBwmogeXUz0.

Oh, and just one more thing. The Ikebana International Mumbai Chapter organised a virtual exhibition for 6th June- Ikebana Day. I was asked to contribute and I provided 2 photographs. Here is the link- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dZ7JLaXDKYOq5Eesi0p_QMlN3cmg6YBi/view?usp=sharing

 Bye for now,

Emily

 

MASTERCLASS #10

 

Hello all,

For today's Masterclass I provided the participants with a number of agapanthus stems with the flower heads cut off. I also gave them a variety of accompanying materials and allowed them to choose a container. I asked them to make the agapanthus stems the dominant part of their arrangement.

The arrangement, above, is my example of the exercise. I wired the stems at the bottom and, again, at the very top to keep them in place. Then I added the stem of Kamo-honnami camellia through the structure.

Akemi used her stems out of water, which is fine because they can last quite a while without water. She also used a large loquat branch and some agapanthus flowerheads, clustered in the centre of her structure. The container she used, except for the colour, is the same as the one I used. They are very useful because their curved shape adds stability, which other containers of similar size would not have.

Christine used a container with spits on both sides and fed the stems through. She completed this dynamic arrangement with oranges on stems, which are not in water but made sure to remove the leaves, which would have wilted very quickly.

Jenny used a large container with many holes, which, she discovered, is not as easy to use as she at first thought. Regardless, she persevered and she, too, created a dynamic arrangement, using the stems sharply on one side and strips of gymea leaves curved on the other. The pomegranate stems added curved lines in contrast to the sharp, straight ones, and the fruit, a focal point.

Ok, so I'm going to have to use this word 'dynamic' again because I can't think of a better one to describe Lucy's arrangement, below. She used five stems and one, large, Green Goddess lily, just unfurling, in a large, ceramic container.

So, for Vicky's arrangement I looked up the thesaurus for a synonym to 'dynamic' but, amongst the many words, I could find none that were accurate. So, I'm back to dynamic. She used the Siberian dogwood stems around the agapanthus stems, which she clustered together, creating a much stronger line. The hakea flowers, stripped of their leaves, added colour and form.

Bye for now,

Emily