LAST CLASSES FOR 2019, # 1

For readers who receive this blog by email I need to correct the spelling in last weeks post heading, from 'Geeling' to 'Geelong'. It was picked up by my ever reliable editor and corrected a few hours later.

Over the past couple of weeks I have celebrated the end of the teaching year with the students from my classes. In each case we have met at a student's house, where the students have created ikebana in situ - adjusting their work to the challenges of the specific location. 

The locations were not chosen by the student but allocated either by drawing lots or of my choosing.  After making their ikebana we shared food and stories in the more informal atmosphere of the host's home. This week I will show photos from my Torquay and Geelong classes.

The first event took place in Val's house in Torquay.

Marion's location was in a narrow space beside a short staircase. She had brought long cascading branches of red Bottle-brush, Melaleuca viminalis, from her garden. Given the tight location and the long branches, Marion was encouraged to feed a couple of the branches through the uprights on the bannister. Marta generously lent some Melaleuca linarifolia for a white, textural contrast that provided a central mass.

Val's  ikebana was located against a floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. I have drawn the blind down to be able to take this photograph. She used Red Hot Pokers Kniphofia for their strong upright lines and a bright red geranium as a contrast.

Judy made this two-vessel arrangement using New Zealand Flax flowers and leaves, contrasted with yellow everlasting flowers and red pincushion proteas.

Helen T's location was a rather tight floor position at a the corner of a corridor. She made a slanting arrangement using two Norfolk Island Pine fronds with red and white geranium flowers as a Christmas-themed contrast.

Marta's ikebana was located in a wide but low space on the bathroom vanity. She created a two-vessel ikebana arrangement, using pine, melaleuca linarifolia and Celosia in the black vessel and a branch of Eucalyptus Lehmannii with dried seed pods in the white vessel.

Annie's location was on a purple desk top against a window. In a white ovoid vessel she arranged a single Clivia leaf, a stem of agapanthus with an unopened flower bud, some purple Tall Veberna, Verbena bonariensis, and a few Camellia leaves. 

Ròża location was a low side-table with a mirror situated above. She had the challenge of arranging two short stemmed (because prostrate growing) banksias with some curving maroon Flax leaves. She created colour harmony by using a copper-coloured metal suiban.

Kim had a difficult location on a small table against a window; difficult because his principal material was a very large dried branch of Moonah Melaleuca lanceolata. Beneath the curve of the branch Kim placed a small suiban in which he arranged white oriental lilies and arum lily leaves as though bursting from underneath.

The second class that day was for my Geelong students and was held at Maree's house. As this class included senior students, most of them also used unfamiliar vessels provided by Maree. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to photograph all the ikebana works. However, below are examples of the students' work. 

Christine's location was on a vanity unit beside a glass shower screen. In a black suiban she arranged some onion flower heads that she had lightly sprayed with silver paint. These were teamed with a small sprig of pine and some vibrant red cactus flowers. The suiban projected slightly over the edge of the vanity surface. Although this is rather unorthodox I felt it looked quite alright in the context of the confined space.

Jo arranged her ikebana on the top of a chest of drawers. She chose a pale green glazed tsubo vase in which she arranged some stems of watsonia with new seed pods forming. Her floral focus was pink oriental lily flower buds. The arrangement was anchored by the final addition of a philodendron leaf.

Helen Q arranged the New Zealand Corokia cotoneaster as a foil to two heads of pink hydrangea. The work was on a carved chest in the entrance hall and seen from the right hand side as well as this view.

Ellie's location was on the top of a vintage treadle sewing machine. In an unusual iron vessel she arranged a branch of cypress, the flower cones of a leucadendron and a single chrysanthemum flower.

When I returned home after last week's Geelong Japanese Summer Festival, I re-worked my New Year's ikebana. This time, with the branch shortened, it is a variation number 4 in a ceramic cylinder made by Graeme Wilkie.

Greetings from Christopher

7th December 2019