A couple of days ago we walked along the Torquay Surf Beach when the tide was higher than usual. The southerly wind added height to the waves and the day was bright but cold.
The weather has turned very wintery. Last night we could not avoid noticing the gale-force winds and intermittent rain squalls. So I was very pleased that I had done some pruning in the garden yesterday in the morning.
The Cecil Brunner rose and the hydrangeas have been reduced to sticks. However, I am sure they will bounce back in the spring. The hydrangea had one small, late-flowering, pale blue/mauve bloom and some very beautifully coloured leaves. The strong, but light, stems with autumnal leaves looked like good ikebana material. I decided to use them in a vase with lines in shades of blue and a rich rust red.
First I needed to create a 'Y' shaped 'cross-bar fixture', for which I used the end of a branching stem from the apricot tree.
Here it is carefully wedged across the inside of this fairly thin-walled vase. This system should never be used with heavy stems, because of the inherent risk of breaking a thin-walled vase when wedging the cross-bar. By leaving some of the side branches I was able to support the principal stems within the triangle created on the left hand side.
Here is the completed arrangement in the niche in the living room. Not a good photograph because of the shadows created by the spotlighting.
This version on a white background worked better. The vase is by the Western Australian ceramic artist, Pippin Drysdale.
You may also like to look at the photos from Tuesday's Ikebana International meeting.
Greetings from Christopher
17th June 2018
I admire your bravery in placing the kubari in that thin walled vase, but the results were worth it:)
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