BUSY HANDS

This has been an especially busy week with the monthly meeting of Ikebana International Melbourne, an ikebana class with my teacher Elizabeth Angell on the same day, and two days of workshops with Yoshiro Umemura from Sydney on the weekend. I will report on those workshops next weekend. 

The theme for the Ikebana International meeting was Japanese Day and a workshop was given on how to tie the simplest decorative knot using mizuhiki, Japanese paper strings. 

This photo shows Chieko Yazaki leading an enthusiastic group at the meeting, step by step through the process.

This example of the desired knot was made by Reiko Ito as a demonstration piece. Reiko also made a beautiful small mizuhiki rosette for all the members at the meeting.

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At Elizabeth's class the exercise was to make an ikebana arrangement in a vessel standing on the floor. I set the work beside the fireplace as it was possible to contain the arrangement  within the narrow space. I used two dried flower stems of New Zealand Flax that are just short of two metres tall. By placing them slightly apart I have further emphasised their height and in the space between them have created an elevated focal point with the heads of dried agapanthus flowers. As the focal point was set high in the arrangement I dropped a line down by hanging an inverted stem of agapanthus. The black porcelain vessel is by Alistair Whyte.

Lara Telford has a new post on her blog from Tokyo where she is the latest recipient of the Norman and Mary Sparnon Endowment scholarship.

Greetings from Christopher

15th October 2017