IKEBANA INCORPORATING FRUIT

During the Covid-19 'stay at home' requirements, some of my students have been sending me photographs of their ikebana which they have created at home. It is gratifying that they are persisting with their practice, and also to see the subtle differences when the ikebana is made for a specific environment. 

Marisha has made her ikebana on the theme of creating a surface using leaves.

Eugenia has made this ikebana using two Banksia flowers on a single stem, which she found "...growing by the roadside, on the way home ...". She also said, "...I love how the two flowers are connected." Her Bizen vase is by Hiroshi Toyofuku.

Marcia has created an autumn ikebana using Crepe Myrtle and a dried palm inflorescence in a tall bamboo vessel.

             

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We are now two days away from the official beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere and are expecting a cold change on Monday. Today has been warm, 18 degrees Celsius, but windy. When walking around the garden I have noticed that leaves of some exotic plants have coloured beautifully.

This is the ornamental grape over the terrace, which contrasts well with the green of the Lorraine Lee rose.

The apricot has been ravaged by possums and only the leaves on the lower branches remain. They have started to yellow before carpeting the ground below.

Last year I repotted this Ficus elastica into a much larger pot. Two days ago I noticed some of the leaves had started to turn a bright yellow. I am not sure whether this is a result of neglect on my part or just natural ageing.

Given the late autumn season I thought they would make a good ikebana subject. The leaves are quite large and leathery in texture. I was thinking about how to arrange them, including as a freestanding sculptural form, but then decided to arrange them so that their edges would be only partially visible above the lip of the vessel. However, none of my ceramic vessels seemed to be suitable as the leaves were so wide and I was reluctant to cut them. Then I came across a glass trough and I realised that it would allow my original idea of the more or less parallel edges showing. Also I could show the whole surface of the leaves.

This is my first version, a one material ikebana. A couple of the leaf edges are showing above the lip of the vessel but also showing the surfaces which are visible within the vessel. The subtle colour variation creates an ikebana focussing on tonal variation.

   

Here is the final result of my experiment with these leaves. I have reduced the number of leaves so that the space at the bottom of the vessel shows and then introduced a new colour and form with some ripe figs which sit between the leaves.

Greetings from Christopher

30th May 2020