IKEBANA on a GRAND SCALE

Later this month the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana will celebrate fifty years since its founding by Norman Sparnon. In the third week of May a members' exhibition will be held at the Yarra Gallery in Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne. The branch is also hosting a visit by Mr Tetsunori Kawana who will conduct a public demonstration and two days of workshops for Sogetsu practitioners. (Click on coloured text for further information about Mr Kawana)

Mr Kawana was the guest of Ikebana International Melbourne in 2009 when, with the assistance of 30 ikebana teachers from around Australia, New Zealand and South Asia, he created the huge bamboo sculpture 'Five Elements: Water' at the National Gallery of Victoria. (Click on coloured text to view a video about the making of Five Elements: Water). I was privileged to be one of those teachers. The image below is of Mr Kawana working on the sculpture.

The next photo was taken on the day the work was completed.

These next three photos were taken a couple of months later and show the sculpture in its setting and how its colour mellowed.

                       

This weeks ikebana is an example of the Sogetsu curriculum exercise of 'Taking into account the colour of the vase'. The delicate botanical material are flowers from a succulent and I have used similar toned paper around the vase.

(Click on coloured text to link to Emily Karanilolopoulos' Tokyo blog)

Greetings from Christopher

4th May 2014