TSUBO VASE WORKSHOP

On Saturday last week I attended a Sogetsu workshop led by Emily Karanikolopoulos, a senior teacher in the Melbourne Branch of the Sogetsu School. Emily had chosen for her topic the Sogetsu curriculum, Book Five exercise, of fixing techniques when using tsubo (round) vases. In these vases it is not correct practise to use a kenzan...

...and I distinctly remember being politely admonished for doing so in this arrangement I made at the Sogetsu Head Quarters in 2011.

At a subsequent class I made the arrangement above, under close instruction. In that case I was taught to fix the principal branch to a 'cross bar' by way of a complex knot. 

A few days before the workshop I noticed a mass of acacia seed pods that were just beginning to develop. They were quite shiny and were developing a lovely brick-red in contrast to the fresh green of the leaves.  

As they made an interesting, if untidy, mass I thought they would be suitable for the workshop. Additionally in their favour was the fact that the stems were reasonably thick. I knew this would be an advantage no matter which fixing technique I finally used. 

Emily demonstrated nailing, intersecting two branches and fixing onto a crossbar. I chose to use the intersecting technique as it would allow me to arrange my principal branch in a near vertical position. 

I have removed all of the green leaves that were among the mass of seed pods on the left to enhance their colour. The main branch on the right is from the same bush. I have added some yellowish-green callistemon flowers from our garden as a contrast. These flowers pickup the colour of the natural ash glaze in the vessel by Ian Jones.

Here is a link to the workshop posting on the Victorian Sogetsu website.


Greetings from Christopher
26th October 2019

CHABANA

A week and a half ago we suddenly had a warm day after some cooler, wet weather. Laurie and I were walking along the board-walk beside Spring Creek at Torquay when my attention was caught by movement in the grass.

It was an echidna searching for ants in the dry sand beside the creek.

Because we kept very still and quiet, the creature was not disturbed and continued to fossick for food.

Echidnas have very poor eyesight and are more disturbed by noise or vibrations felt through the ground. Their response to such disturbance is to curl into a tight ball with only their sharp spines visible. This one was certainly very active.

In the same week I attended the monthly meeting of Ikebana International, Melbourne Chapter. The guest speaker was a maker of wagashi, hand-made Japanese sweets that are usually served with matcha, the Japanese tea made with finely-powdered green tea leaves. The sweets are beautiful to look at, as well as eat, and often made in the shape of flowers or leaves.

Flower arrangements accompanying the traditional tea ceremony are called Chabana, tea flowers. These arrangements have no formal rules and should be very simple, using seasonal materials and made very quickly without kenzans or other fixing devices. The vessel should also evoke simplicity and naturalness.

I made this arrangement of a camellia flower and two leaves on a previous occasion in a simple Bizen ceramic beaker made by Ishida Kazuya from Okayama. The unglazed clay has developed subtle colouration from the kiln firing. 

For the meeting I used another unglazed Bizen vessel that has faceted sides. It has beautiful orange-red markings from being wrapped in rice straw during the firing process. I have added a single stem of white azalea that only needed to be placed in the vase and allowing it to cascade to one side.

There are more photos from the meeting that you can see by following this link to Ikebana International Melbourne meeting.

Greetings from Christopher

20th October 2019

HEATHLAND WILDFLOWERS

Last weekend Laurie and I went for a walk in the nearby nature reserve called Ironbark Basin, part of the Great Otway National Park and so named because Eucalyptus tricarpa (I think) is the dominant species in the valley. There are many species of eucalypts given the common name Ironbark for their tough, dark and deeply furrowed bark.

The nature reserve sits above Addiscot Beach, a long sandy beach sheltered from the prevailing west to south westerly winds.

As we walked along the access road toward Point Addis we noticed a Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea australis, with two tall stems in flower. 

This close-up shows the multiple spidery flowers starting to open. In a few weeks, the stems should be densely covered in flowers and visited by butterflies.

We also came across a Waxlip orchid Calandenia major, which was growing in a small 'forest' of the flowers, but sadly could not be satisfactorily photographed as a group.

Nearby was a Wallflower orchid Diuris orientis.  We called them 'Bee orchids' when I was a child because of the 'wings' and 'legs' that hang down. After doing a bit of searching I found a lot of photos of '... Common Orchids of the Anglesea Heathlands' that you might want to look at through the link. Anglesea is the next coastal town only about 4 kilometres past Ironbark Basin.

Two weeks ago the Annual Exhibition of Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter was held in a vacant retail space in 'District Docklands' on the west side of the city. If you follow the link above it will take you to photos of the exhibition. 

Above is my ikebana, reconstructed at home after the exhibition. I have used two lengths of Honeysuckle vine that I doweled together using bamboo skewers. The vine was about 20 years old when I had to cut it down as it was interfering with the operation of the garage door. I thought the lines in the vine were particularly beautiful and decided they should be my principal subject. By dowelling them together I was able to create a floating effect around the large vessel by Graeme Wilkie. Three maroon anthurium flowers served as a focal point to the linear arrangement.

Greetings from Christopher
12th October 2019

WITH FLOWERS ONLY

Since last week's posting I have had Julie's surplus Dancing-lady Oncidium orchids gracing the sideboard for the week and still looking very fresh. Their constant presence has made me notice them from different view points. 

When they cascade toward the viewer the multiple surfaces of the middle petal enhance their sense of mass. However, side-on the stems have a marked linear character.  This linear characteristic set me to wonder which of my ikebana vases would best show these lines. 

As I drifted to sleep one night I realised that a uniquely-shaped vessel by Grahame Wilkie had just the elevation and curve.

The word 'swoon' always comes to mind when I think of this vessel. Looking back at earlier photos, I notice that I have always arranged the principle line creating a curve in the opposite direction to the vessel.

  

This time I realised that it would be interesting to follow the curve. I have added two deep- red anthurium flowers, which in this view are behind the oncidium flower stems. I would have liked to be able to create a slide show of these photos as I rotated the vessel through 180 degrees...

... because the arrangement changes significantly from each view point.

This angle shows the anthurium just beginning to peep out from the right hand side.

Then more so.

Finally the opposite face of the vessel begins to show.

I have placed this ikebana in the living room niche where I pass it each time I go into the kitchen. In this location I do actually see the arrangement through 180 degrees.

This week's blog title 'With Flowers Only' is an exercise from the advanced curriculum of the Sogetsu school. It is surprisingly difficult to make satisfying ikebana without branches and leaves. I think the reasons are that Ikebana is very sculptural and usually needs line to define the asymmetrical form and create space. Also flowers which often provide the mass of the arrangement can be very eye-catching. So, an arrangement with only flowers can tend to look arranged in a western style.

My final ikebana this week is by my friend and mentor, Kath Dacy. Kath, who retired from teaching ikebana some years ago, and is a source of wisdom for me with great insights into the art of ikebana. 

I visited Kath last Monday and was delighted to see this rather large 'With Flowers Only' ikebana that she had created from remnants of rather more traditional arrangement in the Chapel of her new home. 

I noticed that the work has harmonious use of colour. It is also an asymmetrical design with line mass and space. I think it is particularly characteristic of ikebana that she has placed the visually-strong larger flowers to the side and rear of the arrangement, so that they are seen among and through the other materials.

Thanks Kath.

Greetings from Christopher
6th October 2019