SUMMER'S END

  

In this part of the world summer seemed to end rather suddenly. Although autumn colours are not likely to be seen for some time, the weather is cooler. In spite of which we are still having some pleasant warm days and the blessing of rain. 

This week I want to show you recent ikebana by some of my students.

I was really amused when Val created this playful work above. The subject for the class was 'Memories of summer holidays'. What she has created is a morimono (heaped things) ikebana arrangement which, in the Sogetsu curriculum, is made with fruit and/or vegetables. Flowers may be added, but should be minimal. The colours and fruit are particular to summer and the cheeky addition of sunglasses is a delightful touch.

For the students in my Melbourne class I set the subject of late-summer, early-autumn grasses; not however the traditional 'Seven Grasses of Summer'. I was more interested in the 'feel' of the season.

Helen N used three grasses in an unusual fish trap-shaped basket, with the addition of two small white flowers to brighten the ikebana.

Margaret used two grasses, a long stemmed mauve headed grass and a very fine grass. The latter was massed and has not photographed well because of the light back ground. To give the ikebana some zing she has added two stems of Crocosima with its fresh leaves.

Robyn used three grasses and two fine, small flowers to visually lighten the work. She set her ikebana in an interesting basket made from two interwoven palm inflorescences. 

Eugenia created her ikebana in an interesting ceramic footed bowl with a deep aqua-green glaze. She used seven different grasses and a dry branch to give a sense of mass to the otherwise light materials.

Marcia made a simple ikebana in a contemporary black ceramic vessel using two types of grasses.

Also in the same class, Jacqueline's Sogetsu curriculum exercise was to make an ikebana with two seperate groups of materials. This style is known as a ka-bu-wa-ke.

In the Geelong class, Jo's exercise was a freestyle arrangement 'Using leaves only'. From her garden she gathered two huge rhubarb leaves for her main material. She was particularly interested in showing the underside of one leaf and contrasting it with the upper surface of the second leaf. To give these two large surfaces a dynamic feel she added some loops of agapanthus leaves on the right and a line extending on the left.

Tess has created an elegant flowing line in her ikebana with a small contrasting mass of dietes grandiflora. Her exercise was to practise using the 'cross-bar fixture'. I was particularly impressed with the result as the vase had pronounced ridges and an oval cross-section making the cross-bar technique especially difficult.  

Greetings from Christopher
7th March 2020