During last week the school childrens' early morning class on the beach was surf riding. What a change from my childhood when the sport options were cricket and tennis in Summer and Australian Rules Football in Winter.
One great positive outcome of this class is that these children are learning all about safety in the water under the close supervision of their teachers.
This last week my ikebana friend, Lennart Persson from Norway, has been visiting. He joined my class in Geelong where the exercise was: 'An arrangement of line and mass' combined with 'Using dried, bleached or coloured materials".
Lennart made a mass from banksia flowers and leaves and contrasted it with a line of faded green coloured Edgeworthia. The vessel is by the Canadian ikebanist and potter, Janet Keefe.
Ellie made a mass with Everlasting daisies and a dried leaf of Strelitzia Nicolai.
Helen made a mass from deep pink Sedum and combined it with a line of dried vine.
In the garden the Belladonna Lilies Amaryllis Belladonna, that I mentioned last week, have reached their peak. I wrote about these flowers in this blog five years ago.
The story in my family about this flower is as follows: When my mother was in hospital waiting for me to be born, my grandmother was taking care of my two older brothers. Apparently the older of the two went out to play and came home with a bunch of these lilies that he had found growing by the roadside. Grandma was worried that he had stolen them from somebody's garden; so she made him take her to where he had found them. Sure enough, they were growing wild by the roadside near an old abandoned farm. Since then we have always had them in the garden and they often flower on my birthday.
This week I have used the Belladonna lilies and arranged them in a trough, emphasising the lines of their stems. They are contrasted with the volume of a canna lily leaf.
The 11th World Convention of Ikebana International begins in almost one month, on 11th April. If you are going to be there I look forward to the possibility of meeting you in Okinawa.
Greetings from Christopher
12th March 2017
How interesting they are teaching surfing in gym class. Way back when I was in school it was mostly team sports and the individual sports skills are a good idea for keeping fit after your school years.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your family story about the amaryllis flowers.
If I see you in Okinawa I will come over and introduce myself :)