FADING MATERIALS

Last week we went to Wagga Wagga in south central New South Wales, to visit our friend Janet, who took us to the National Art Glass Collection at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. She had taken us there on an earlier visit and it was certainly worth another look. 

"...The collection was first established by the former director of the Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery, Judy Le Lievre in response to a request by the Australia Council for regional galleries to develop as specialised collections to avoid duplication and competition..."  (Wikipedia)

This photo shows a small installation of, mostly, clear glass vessels against a window with a shallow pool beyond. A quite playful placement of everyday objects.

This mobile of delicate glass hemispheres  was created by an artist who stated that the 'lacy' appearance of the objects referenced her Irish ancestry. There was something quite hypnotic about the gentle movement of this installation.

When we came home I noticed the last few scabiosia flowers from last summer. They reminded me of the form of the objects in the mobile,...

...delicate lacy hemispheres.

I also found a broken branch of Broom Cystisus scoparius. a significant plant in the garden because it had been struck from a bush in my parents' garden.

I decided these fading materials should be given new life as the subject of this week's ikebana.

I have caught the tips of the broom branchlets together and arched them in an ikebana vase. I have then used the stems as a hana kubari, a support created from botanical materials, to hold the scabiosa flowers in place, thus avoiding the need for a kenzan. The porcelain vessel  is by Hiroe Swen, the Canberra based ceramic artist.    

Greetings from Christopher

8th April 2018