Ceramic container bought in Tokyo in April but sent by mail.
Recently arrived and had to be used.
Acacia aphyla and tulips

Hello all,

I've just returned from the tropics. Sam and I took a short but much needed break and headed for the warmth of tropical Queensland. We spent six glorious days in Port Douglas where the weather is absolutely perfect with warm days and balmy nights. A marked difference from cold and miserable Melbourne.

Tapeinochilos ananassae, the spiral ginger plant, blow, would be great for ikebana. Its stems grow in a spiral pattern with the leaves on the outer side of the curve. Nature's work of art.

As if the lush tropical vegetation around the resort was not enough to make this poor ikebanist's heart beat faster, I had to come across this pile of 'rubbish' on the lawn. As I stood looking at the various dry palm fronds, my mind went into overdrive - Oh, the things I could do! My 'beloved' had to gently drag me away.

I came across the flower, in the photo below, growing outside a shop and was fascinated with it. I stopped to photograph it when a kind passer-by volunteered to tell me what it was. It's called 'Bat Plant' - Tacca Integrifolia (thank you google) and it comes in either black or white. This one is the white version. I would love to know what evolutionary purpose is served by this bizarre configuration of bracts, flowers and filaments.

I don't want to turn this post into a travel log but I want to share some highlights. For those who don't already know, the Daintree Rainforest is the oldest in the world, dating back 180 million years, older by tens of millions of years than the Amazon. A sobering thought.

 Swimming in the Kassowary falls in the Daintree rainforest is definitely a highlight. The falls are situated in a privately owned property and there is only one tour company with arrangements to enter the property. Seven of us in a mini bus with a driver rattled through the rainforest, then changed to a very rough looking four wheel drive (photo below) went through locked gates, crossed water ways and arrived at the falls. It was a truly exhilarating experience to swim in the pristine pond under the falls, with fish and turtles swimming around us.

As part of the same tour we went on a short cruise on the Daintree river looking for crocodiles and other wildlife. I stopped to photograph this rather lovely yellow hibiscus, when the driver of the boat pointed to the beautifully coloured tree snake resting on a branch just above the flowers.

Near by Palm Cove boasts these giant Malaleucas, around which shops and restaurants have been built. If you look closely at the photographs, you'll see the trees growing through the roofs of the shops. An odd experience, sitting in a restaurant with a huge tree trunk next to you.

Upon our return from a walk to the Mossman Gorge, we came across this giant Golden Orb Weaver spider. It took my breath away. I estimated its size at 18 cm from tip of front legs to tip of back legs. Its web was over one sq. metre.

So, now we're back home and before I start on the accumulated laundry, I wanted to write this post. To those of you who stayed to the end, I say 'Thank you for your indulgence'.

Until next time,

Emily

Hello all,

The above arrangement is dedicated to my uncle Nick and auntie Elizabeth, who, very kindly, sacrificed the largest of the few fruit on their pomegranate tree. The arrangement covers two themes - "Seasonal Materials' and "Fruit bearing Branches'.

Just over two weeks ago, our Sogetsu group had a workshop, which was conducted by Lee Johnstone. The arrangements were to incorporate two themes - 'To be viewed from all Angles' and 'Seasonal Materials - Atumn/Winter'

I took photographs of my arrangement from three different angles, below. As I had to leave the workshop early, I was not able to take photographs of any other arrangements. So, I recommend you go to our website - sogetsuikebanavic.weebly.com to see more.

In class a couple of lessons ago, the senior girls were given the theme 'Green Materials Only'. Below are some examples. They're quite self explanatory.

Vicky

Lucy

Lucy

Emily

Emily

Freestyle Arrangement by Aurelia

I, normally, don't include photographs of basic arrangements but I was so pleased
by the arrangement, below, by Guy Pascoe, that I felt it deserved to be featured here.

Basic Slanting Moribana reversed

Bye for now,
Emily

Viburnum Opulus branch,cotoneaster horizontalis berries (red) and melia
berries (green)

BEFORE'S AND AFTER'S

We are becoming more and more conscious of reducing waste in all aspects of our lives. This includes our ikebana, where we are encouraged to reuse materials as much as possible. Mr Kawana made a particular point of this in one of his very early visits to Melbourne and I have been trying to follow his instructions as much as possible.

The same vine in a wall arrangement
 with hydrangea and echinops

'Arrangement Using Vine'
Wisteria, cotoneaster berries and hydrangea

'Dried Bleached or Coloured Material'
Coloured Acacia aphyla, horsetail and peones

The same horsetail with rose

I made this arrangement with some leftover materials but I wasn't completely happy with it. When we were discussing this in class, I realized what it was that bothered me about it. The mahonia flowers were placed naturalistically, whereas the leaves were more modern.

 So, I gave it a 'haircut'. I think it's an improvement

                                  

                                                                                             

And once the mahonia flowers died, I replaced them with this hydrangea

You may remember, on a previous post, my delight in all my beautiful agapanthus flowers. Well, I was much less delighted when I had to remove them all after they died. It was a long and tiring job but it gave me the opportunity to play around with flowers and stems.

'Only one kind of material'

The same arrangement a week later

Agapanthus stems

Bye for now,
Emily

GLORIOUS AUTUMN IN MELBOURNE

We are very lucky in Melbourne to have four distinct seasons, especially for us Ikebanists, and I love all four. But autumn here is so stunning it takes my breath away. I have many deciduous trees and shrubs, which lift my spirits as I watch them changing colours. And raking the leaves on a sunny autumn afternoon would have to be one of my favourite pass times. Unfortunately, due to a shoulder injury, I can only do so a little at a time.

In the photograph, above, I started to rake the leaves from the mature golden elm but then had to stop and hand the job over to my lawn mower man, David. He used his efficient, albeit noisy blower to collect them into a large pile. Before I distribute them into my garden beds as mulch, I will give the grandchildren a chance to play in them. Also, I draw your attention to the state-of-the-art tree house that my neighbour and his son built on this, my favourite of my trees.

AND SO ONTO BOOK 5

In our first lesson after my return, the senior students were set the theme 'Composition Expressing a Movement'. I attended a workshop on this theme in Tokyo. The first sentence in this lesson reads as follows: 'Create a composition by developing its idea from a verb of movement'. We had a great deal of fun thinking up different verbs that we could represent in our arrangements, so much so, that we didn't know when to stop. I'm including only some of tthe work that was produced.

'Bouncing' - Bredenia 

'Drpping'- Lucy 

'Balancing' - Lucy 

'Cascading'- Emily

'Tickling' - Emily

'Excluding' - Vicky

'Curling' - Vicky

'Saluting' - Vicky

I leave you with a freestyle arrangement using my favourite camellia, 'Kamo Hon Ami' and viburnum opulus branches in this cheeky vase.

Bye for now,

Emily

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mums out there.

Last Tuesday we had our Ikebana International meeting where my sister-in-law Toula Karanikolopoulos was the demonstrator. Our theme was Using Paper in Ikebana, which is part of the lesson 'Unconventional Materials'. Toula used scrunched up paper that she died in subtle, pastel colours and added origami pieces to one side. She used New Zealand Flax and Singapore orchids in a container that she made herself.

Emily Karanikolopoulos

I wanted to use this Washi Paper that I made in Tokyo recently with my friend Emiko. But using an A4 piece of paper in an arrangement was quite challenging. This was one way to use it, almost flat, to showcase the details in the paper. I used aspidistra leaves and crucifix orchids.

Emiko Chishima in deep concentration making
her Washi Paper.

Below are just a few examples of arrangements using paper. For more photographs please go to our blog - melbourneikebana.blogspot.com.au

Christopher James

Betty Karanikolopoulos

Margaret Wilson

Nicole McDonald

After my absence from home and garden, I returned to find the Monstera Deliciosa flowering prolifically. Of course, I was compelled to arrange some of the flowers. In the arrangement, below, I used 5 flowers and three strelitsia leaves in a container I made myself many years ago. The copper strips pick up some colours in the container, which, unfortunately can't be seen in the photo. The flowers are very rigid and heavy making them difficult to place in an arrangement and the 'hood' of each flower falls away easily due to its weight.

Bye for now,

Emily