During the week we attended a Melbourne International Festival event at the Royal Melbourne Botanic Gardens. This is a place with which we are very familiar. I remember visiting this 36 hectare garden in the 1960s with my childhood friends and the excitement of discovery that occurred with every visit.
This is a view west across the ornamental lake, which was created by closing off a bend in the Yarra River, when it was straightened in the 1880s. The western boundary of the garden shares a border with the precinct of Government House.
The nighttime festival event was called 'Fire Gardens', in which multiple installations of braziers, candles and pots of flaming wax were placed in a variety of locations around the gardens. What a total transformation of a familiar location.
This view is across the ornamental lake with the tower of Government House visible in the background. Flaming pots were set above the water in the foreground and arranged on the two large spheres seen in the middle distance.
In this and the next photo charcoal braziers were set above one of the other ponds in the garden.
Fire and water always make a fascinating combination when cleverly combined.
What we hadn't expected was the additional dramatic effect of the rather cold wind that sent sparks flying.
My favourite installation was in the 'fern gully'. Dozens of candles hung overhead and a smaller number of flaming pots beside the path cast a warm glow. It turned out to be a playful installation, as the shades were all singlets stretched over wire frames.
Experiences of art work like these installations make me think about how sometimes we may transform materials into unrecognisable forms in ikebana. However, not so this week.
Today's ikebana is an arrangement I made at the meeting of Ikebana International Melbourne this week. I have used a modern Japanese lacquerware vase I bought in Kiso-Fukushima last year. I chose this vase as the meeting's theme was 'Japanese Day'. Because the vase is unusual and visually strong, I wanted to emphasise it by keeping the arrangement small and simple. I used just two acanthus leaves and a spray of Viburnum tomentosum.
Greetings from Christopher
13th October 2018
A lovely arrangement, thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDelete